Life in Inkopolis: Heir to the Throne
by ARandomInterloper
Summary: After yet another squidnapping, the Splatoon is finally going to make its move against the Octarian Menace. Meanwhile, a long-lost Octoling finds himself in a world he's never known before. (Not Splatoon 2 story mode)
1. Chapter 1

**Author's note: Welcome to my newest story. I've seen that my last story wasn't as popular as some of my other ones, so I'll try harder for this one! Hopefully it'll peak more people's interest. Also, this is a continuation from my previous stories, so reading them is advised.**

 **Life in Inkopolis: Heir to the Throne**

Chapter 1

 **Inkopolis News Time!**

"Y'all know what time it is!" Pearl shouted.

"It's Off the Hook, coming at you LIVE from Inkopolis Square."

"We've got an Inkredible news story for ya today!" Pearl told the audience.

"A sizable group of cephalopods held captive by Salmonids have broken free and arrived in Inkopolis!" Marina revealed. "They're currently being held in medical facilities getting wounds treated and reconnecting with their families."

"They were found and carried to the shore by a group of Salmon Runners known as Gregory Pire, Denise Nidae, Oscar Tunic, and Mia Parate of a community service group known as "The Defenders." Pearl read the names on a list. "Nice bunch of squids, huh?"

"I've met Gregory before…" Marina said. "I wouldn't exactly call him 'nice'…"

"He was probs in a bad mood." Pearl shrugged. "Just like I was when all of my besties either left my party early or didn't show up at all."

"Sorry, Pearlie…" Marina felt bad. "I had some…errands to do…"

"It's cool, I already forgive ya!" Pearl told her. "And if he's mean to ya again, he'll have to deal with the Pearl!"

"So what kind of name is Defenders, anyway?" Marina wondered.

"I'm guessing Inkopolis Defenders." Pearl guessed. "Not every group gets the name right the first try. Remember some of the names we came up with at first?"

"Maritime Melodies wasn't bad." Marina told her.

"Yeah, if you don't mind sounding like a recording studio for nursery songs." Pearl quipped.

"Ouch…" Marina felt that burn. "Well, it was better than the name you came up with."

"What was wrong with Pearl Jam?" Pearl was confused.

"Well, other than the fact that I'm pretty sure that name's already taken," Marina explained. "Shouldn't the name include both of us?"

"It includes both of us." Pearl assured her.

"How so?" Marina wanted to hear the explanation.

"Easy." Pearl sat up straight. "I'm Pearl, and we Jam to your beats."

Marina put a hand to her face and inhaled.

"…Makes sense." Marina supposed.

"Hold up, Marina!" Pearl almost jumped. "We've got breaking news!"

"Breaking news?" Marina was curious. "What'd you break this time?"

"…Seriously, Rina?" Pearl sighed and stared at her. "Every time?"

"Oh…but we already announced the Splatfest topics the other day." Marina was confused.

"Not that!" Pearl shook her head. "This is brand new news! Some UFO was seen flying towards Inkopolis Plaza of all places earlier today."

Blurry images showed up on the TV screen.

"Wait…is that…?" Marina's eyes widened.

"It flew into the city, disappeared into the Plaza, and left a few minutes later." Pearl continued. "No one knows what it was, why it was there, or why it left so quickly."

"It was probably one of those drones young squidkids are playing with these days." Marina shrugged.

"Whatever it was, it actually brought some tourists to the Plaza." Pearl said. "From nostalgic squids, to curious newcomers, and an ambulance called brought local authorities too. Wait, does that mean no more Limitless Battles?"

"Limitless Battles?" Marina was confused by the term. "What are those and why haven't you invited me to one?"

"I can neither confirm nor deny what they are." Pearl stated. "I also can't confirm nor deny participating in or gambling on these battles."

"Um…okay…" Marina was a little unsettled.

"And that's all the time we've got." Pearl realized. "Until next time…"

They both got ready.

"Don't get cooked…" They struck a pose. "Stay off the hook!"

 **Octo Canyon…**

Octarians were gathering in the hangar, awaiting the Octobot King's return.

Sure enough, the Octobot King flew in.

A kimono-wearing Octoling came out with her entourage of guards. They stopped as the machine landed I front of them.

"Great DJ Octavio…" The lead Octoling bowed. "We are grateful you have returned to us…and so soon…"

There was silence.

"…Umm…Hello?" She waited for an answer.

A pair of hands then grabbed the edge, pulling someone up.

"Um…where am I?" A confused young Octoling asked.

"…Who are you?" The kimono-clad Octoling asked, very confused. "Where's the DJ?"

"…I'm Octim…" The confused, and somewhat scared boy answered as he climbed out and pulled down his sleeves. "DJ's…back at the Plaza…"

"Arrest the traitor." She ordered her guards.

"W-wait…" He then got an idea. "Look!"

He removed his goggles, revealing the King's eyes.

"A Royal?" She was pleasantly surprised. "My apologies…You must be his…?"

"Grandson…apparently…" He was still processing that.

"Another one?" The Elite tilted her head. "Whatever…My name is Julia. I am Commander of Octo Canyon."

"A-and I'm Octim…" He said again. "Or…well…l-let's just go with that for now…"

"Very well." Julia shrugged. "Follow me to my central dome."

"B-but I want to go home." Octim objected.

"Silly boy…" Julia patted his head. "You are home."

 **Elsewhere…Beth's POV**

"Agent 8, hurry!" I shouted. "We've gotta go!"

"Where?!" She was startled.

"Octo Canyon!" I told her. "Agent 2 needs us!"

We rushed as fast as we could to the Cabin in Cuttlefish Canyon.

"Alright, what's the situation?" I asked Agent 2.

"Octavio has been found." She told us. "He's been apprehended in Inkopolis Plaza."

So we really should've looked there…

Note to self: Actually look in the first place we'd look.

"And we needed to come here for that?" Agent 8 was confused.

"There is more." Two assured us. "Yet another Inkopolis resident was captured. This time, it's one of Sarah's squadmates from the Tournament."

She then showed us a picture.

"He goes by Octim." She told us. "However, he has caught the eye of our DJ friend. In fact, Octavio had been teaching him music ever since he went missing."

"Why?" Eight was confused. "He never teaches anyone."

"Tim's a special case." Agent 2 sighed. "As it turns out, he's DJ Octavio's long-lost grandson."

"What…?" I was shocked to hear that.

"He's…a royal?" Eight looked at the picture. "Hmph…well, he's home now!"

"Eight!" Agent 2 glared at her. "Your feelings towards the royal family aside, I've met the kid. Twice. He's not his grandpa. He's a nice boy who likes music. He had literally nothing to do with the bad parts of your life."

"…Sorry…" Eight felt guilty now.

"It's fine." Two assured her. "I know you and a lot of Octolings may have some hostility towards them, but no one's born a mind-controlling tyrant. Now, we're going to get him back. Any questions?"

"Why save a royal?" I wondered. "He'd be treated well, right?"

"Tim hasn't spent a single day in the Octarian settlements." Two told us. "The experiences he's had make him as much an Inkopolis resident as the rest of us. Also…frankly…I'm getting pretty tired of Octarians squidnapping people. From Callie…to 3.5…to Alice…to 3.5 again….and now this kid. We have to draw the line somewhere!"

"…Hm…you know, you're actually sounding a lot like the Cap'n." I noticed.

"I am?!" She was shocked to hear that. "Well…I guess his more philosophical ramblings rubbed off on me…I just hope I don't end up as a sad old squid watching these Octos…That'd be…well…sad…"

I snickered a bit at the thought of that.

"Well, anyway," She got back on track. "We believe he'll be at the Central Dome of Octo Canyon. Any objections to this mission?"

"…No." Eight shook her head. "If Guyver and 4 like him…then he must not be bad…I'm in!"

"Me too." I nodded my head.

"Alright then…" Agent 2 then mimicked the Cap'n's pose. "Let's move out!"


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note: New Follower! Thanks xjustinx for your interest in the story and I hope you, my other followers, and everyone else who reads this continues to enjoy my works!**

Chapter 2

 **Tim's POV**

This Julia lady took me to this underground dome with an old Octarian-style castle in it…weird…

"So…how long am I going to be staying here?" I asked.

"Until I can get permission for a royal escort to take you to the Octo Valley Central Dome." She told me. "Don't worry; I'll make sure you remain here until I can get you there."

"But I want to go back to Inkopolis." I told her.

"Tim, was it?" She looked at me. "Believe me when I say within the next few months, you don't want to go there."

What?

"Also, don't you want to meet your family?" She tilted her head. "I'm sure all of your cousins would be excited to see you."

"I…have cousins?" I was surprised to hear.

"Of course!" She nodded her head. "You have 56 legitimate first cousins."

"Legitimate?" I was confused by the term.

"Let's just say the King, as well as one or two of his children may not have been the most…faithful to their spouses…" She didn't explain. "Wait, were your parents married?"

"Yes…" I nodded my head.

"Then you're the 57th legitimate grandchild!" She told me. "Would you like anything, dear cousin?"

"Wait, you're my cousin?" I was surprised to hear.

"I'm your third cousin." She replied. "My Great Grandfather was siblings with yours."

I'm learning I have a lot of family today…

 **Octo Canyon…Mei's POV**

We need to find this Octim kid.

He's surely at the Commander's dome.

Getting closer, and "EEK!"

I barely dodged blob of ink fired at me.

"Get down!" Two shouted and we dove behind cover.

There was a large group of Elites ahead of us guarding the central dome.

"Well, she did say she'd beef up security!" Three said as she started firing back.

I started firing at the Elites. We started to push them back at first, but more came and we got pushed back.

"We need to find a way around them!" Two shouted. "Sooner or later Octarian regulars will come from behind us!"

I then got an idea.

"In here!" I bust open an air vent, shifted forms, and dove in.

The other two followed me into the vent.

"We can follow the vents into the center dome!" I told them.

"Good plan." Two admitted.

We swam through the vents. I could see the Elites looking around, not knowing where we went.

Eeesh…I can see the shades on most of them…poor soldiers…

We continued on, dropping into the central dome.

Unfortunately, there were more patrols…

She reeeaally beefed up security…

"Found 'em!" An Elite shouted from the distance.

All Octarians in the dome heard and turned to see us.

"Retreat for now!" Two shouted as she jumped back into the vent.

We quickly followed her.

"Haven't you fought Elites before?" I asked, confused.

"Normally yes because they wouldn't be too much of an issue, but there are way too many." Three told me. "I can handle maybe 10 coming at me at once, but that's usually with the Octoshot wielding regular ones and there was a huge variety of weapons in there. I'd have to change my strategy almost every second."

"Not to mention that, from what I've recently researched about Julia, she probably got some Elites from the Royalty dome; the really good ones." Two added. "We'll fall back for now, have Marina hack into the systems, and find out a way to get in and get Tim out."

We swam through the vents to a room that was out of range of those Elites.

"Now to get out of here…" Two said.

"Not just yet!" Someone shouted as I felt something kick the back of my head, knocking me down.

"Heeeeello!" Said a brush-wielding Elite standing on top of me, lifting her goggles a bit to get a good look at us. "So who's first?"

"You know there are three of us and only one of you, right?" Two asked as she aimed her charger.

"You're right, hon." She nodded her head. "There's only one of me!"

She immediately knocked Three out of the way and rushed towards Two, dodging her shots. Two barely managed to dodge a swing from her brush.

"Where's your yellow-clad lackey?" The Elite asked.

"She's not here right now…whoever you are…" Two told her, a bit confused.

"Well, tell her Joanne wants a rematch!" Joanne told her right before dodging Three's shots. "If I don't catch ya first!"

I managed to get up.

Wow, this Joanne girl is good at dodging shots…

I started firing at her.

It took a while, but one of us managed to his her.

Then another hit…and another…

And she slipped and fell down.

We all stood over her, weapons aimed at her.

"Heh…" She grinned as she laid there. "That was fun…"

"I'd suggest running along if you don't want to get hurt." Three told her.

"Alright…" She agreed. "But I still want that rematch. Tell your Agent 4 to meet me at the Suction Cup Lookout Boss Kettle. I'll be there every day between 1200 and 1400 hours."

"We might consider it." Two told her. "But before you leave, care to tell us how to get in there? We need to get someone out."

"The royal?" She guessed. "Sorry hon, but my lips are sealed on that."

"How about tell us or we'll splat you?" I readied my Octoshot.

"Sweetie, you're way too adorable to be intimidating." She said, putting a hand on her hip. "I'd just respawn anyway."

"We're trying to get a child back to his mother." Two told her. "Do you not care about that?"

"I'm a Tubeling." Joanne shrugged. "I don't have a reason to care about 'family'. I'm just here to get through life."

"…That look…" Two said. "You've heard the Inkantation, haven't you?"

"Twice." Joanne added. "So?"

"And you stayed?" Two was surprised.

"Tried leaving once and got caught." Joanne explained. "Second time I was convinced to stay."

"By Sieg?" Three guessed. "3.5 told me he came by for a bit to help convince some of you guys to stay."

"Yeah." Joanne nodded her head. "I'd rather not get involved in a war myself, but if it helps everyone, I guess I'll hold out."

"Is the only way through war?" I asked.

"I don't know…" Joanne sighed. "It was either join willingly or get brainwashed…again…I'm just doing what I can to stay me."

"You can leave." Two said. "Go to Inkopolis."

"Hon, if the rumors I've heard are true," Joanne looked at her. "I don't wanna be anywhere near Inkopolis within the next few months."

"What do you mean?" Three asked.

"Well, it's only rumors," Joanne told us. "But I hear that Sieg boy's planning some kind of attack in the near future. What it is, I don't know. You'd have to go to Octo Gorge to find out."

"…What if you transferred?" I suggested. "You clearly aren't a fan of your life here, so why not help us and we'll help you?"

She looked surprised by my suggestion.

"Are you sure?" Two asked.

"Yes." I was sure. "Help us prevent a war, and we'll do everything in our power to help as many Octarians as we can."

The other two agents were surprised by my offer and Joanne seemed to be thinking about it.

"Soooo…" She got closer. "What'd you have in mind?"


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

 **Another POV**

Hm…Amphia's not answering my texts…

Maybe she's just seeing a movie with Tim or something…

Well, if she needs anything, she knows where the hotel is…

I opened the door.

"Amphia?" I was surprised. "What're you doing here?"

I could see she was crying.

"What happened?" I asked as I walked over.

"He's gone, Stanley…" She answered.

"Who?" I was confused.

"Tim….he's gone…" She replied.

"Where?" I was more confused now.

"Octo Canyon…" She told me. "He met his grandpa and he sent Tim there…"

"Why?" I was beyond confused.

"…There's a lot I haven't told you…" She admitted. "There's a lot I haven't told Gerald either…"

"Well…tell us." I told her. "We'll understand."

"No you won't…" She sighed.

I gave her a hug to calm her down.

"Try us." I shrugged.

 **Later…**

"Well then…" Dad was twiddling his fingers. "That…puts a whole new perspective on things…"

"Why didn't you go back?" I wondered. "Aren't the royals treated better?"

"I knew that Octavio would've just tried to turn my boy into a mini-him!" She said, crossing her arms. "I didn't want him to be another Octavio."

"And yet you named him Octavio." I pointed out.

"That…was a promise I made…" She sighed. "We disgussed what we'd name our child if we…had one…We decided if it was a girl, I'd name it and if it was a boy…we'd give it him and his father's name…"

"Is there any way you can contact him?" Dad wondered. "Surely there's some way."

"…His goggles!" Amphia shouted and ran for the closet. "We can communicate with these! I completely forgot about that!"

She found them on her old uniform and turned them on.

 **Meanwhile…Tim's POV**

"Please, I just want to see my friends!" I begged. "I don't even know anyone here!"

"You'll get to know people." Julia said, reaching into a closet. "Now, put this gi on. We have a dress-code here."

"You really have a thing for old fashion, don't you?" I said as I took the gi from her.

"It makes me feel important." She replied.

"Aren't Commanders already important?" I asked.

"Well, more important." She shrugged. "I mean, we all do what we do to get ahead in the world. I'm hoping a passion for the past will get me ahead."

"But aren't the only higher positions Adviser and Leader?" I remembered that lesson.

"…I mean, yeah…" She nodded her head. "Some of us relatives desire Lord Octavio's favor. 14 years since his previous heir was murdered and he still hasn't named a new one. He needs to pick a new one soon."

"Er…right…" I felt uneasy as I put the gi over my clothes.

"Do you think I'd be a good leader?" She asked. "Theoretically, of course…my chances are as good as yours."

"I wouldn't know." I replied. "Wait, aren't…I…in the way of that?"

"He can choose anyone who's related." She told me. "Most aren't interested. I'm just one of the few making an effort to be chosen who isn't just waiting for him to die."

"Heh, I'm sure it'll be fine…" I wasn't. "…What would you do if someone else was chosen?"

"As if that would happen." She hand-waved. "I mean, I helped him with his Zapfish heist and squidnapping. Aaaand I gave his costar all she needed to put on a good show. I've helped the most out of anyone! He said he'd reward me handsomely after the Zapfish heist, though I suppose that'll have to wait until the next time he breaks out."

"…Well, I hope that works out!" I said, a little nervous. "Huh…I actually look cool in this…"

"Imagine how you'll look when you wear it properly." She quipped. You can't wear it over a jacket!"

"Can I keep everything else?" I asked.

"Sure." She shrugged.

"…Can I get a little privacy?" I sheepishly asked.

"Oh Octo, you really have lived with Inklings." She groaned. "Fine, prude."

She turned around.

I quickly took my jacket off and put the gi over myself. Luckily I had a long-sleeve shirt on too.

"Is this better?" I asked.

She turned around.

"Ugh," She rolled her eyes. "Let me tie your belt properly."

I then saw my goggles buzzing.

"Can I get that?" I asked.

Julia reached over, grabbed them, and put them on my head.

"Hello?" I called out.

"Tim!" I heard mom's voice. "Are you okay, sweetie?!"

"Mom!" I was relieved to hear from her. "I'm fine…I-uh…I'm getting a gi apparently."

"Aaand looking amazing!" Julia added.

"Who's that?" Mom asked.

"Julia." I answered. "She's supposed to watch me until she can get people to take me to Octo Valley…"

"That's not going to happen!" Mom assured me. "The Splatoon's going to get you back and I'll take you back to Cirrina!"

"What?" I heard a man's voice ask. I think it was Stanley.

"Whazzat?!" Gramps' voice could also be heard.

"But I want to stay in Inkopolis!" I reminded her. "I like it here!"

"And look where that's gotten you!" Mom replied.

"Octavio did that to keep us from leaving!" I pointed out.

"He wanted us in one spot!" Mom pointed out. "He wanted us all to go back to the domes! He tricked us!"

"What about you?" I asked. "Why didn't you tell me any of this? It's kind of an important thing to know!"

"What was I supposed to tell you?" She asked. "Hi Tim, I just wanted to tell you that you come from a crumbling oppressive society run by a madman who brainwashes people who's also your grandpa! Would you tell anyone that?!"

"I…guess not…" I admitted.

"Well, no one else is going to know when I take you home!" Seriously?!

I don't want to go back to Cirrina!" I told her again. "I've lived in that house with no friends my entire life! I don't wanna live like that anymore!"

"I just want to keep you safe!" She said.

"But I'm happy in Inkopolis!" I remarked. "All of my friends are there!"

"You can make friends at home." She replied.

"No I can't!" I shouted. "You don't want me to make friends! You're just going to lock me in that house and chase everyone off again, aren't you?!"

"Tim, don't talk back to me!" She shouted. "I'm taking you home and that's final!"

"I'd rather stay here!" I told her.

"Why would you want to stay there?!" She couldn't believe it.

"BECAUSE IT'S FAR AWAY FROM YOU!" I yelled and turned off the goggles.

…

"…Oh carp…" My eyes widened.

"What?' Julia asked.

"I just said that…to her…" She's gonna kill me…

 **Stanley's POV**

"Tim?" Amphia tried reaching him. "Tim! If you hung up on me, I swear you'll be grounded for a month!"

"Excuse me, but what was that about takin' him back to Cirrina?" Dad asked. "What happened to getting a job here and movin' to the city?"

"Plans change…" Amphia replied.

"Oh no you don't!" Dad said. "Ya can't coop him up forever! You gotta let him go sometime!"

"Let him go?!" Amphia's eyes widened. "He admitted he's been in danger! He came here and did everything I told him not to do! As soon as the…whoever it is…gets him back, I'm taking him home!"

"Do that and I'm cutting you off!" Dad told her.

"What?" That caught me off guard.

"You'd…you'd let us starve?" Amphia was staring at him.

"Starve?" Dad tilted his head. "From what I've seen, Tim can take care of himself. You on the other hand…"

"Why?!" Amphia was dumbstruck.

I had no idea what to make of this.

"Amphia, I can't take care of ya forever." Dad sighed. "What'll you do when I'm gone? What'll you do when Tim's an adult? Have ya thought this whole thing through at all?!"

Amphia fell silent. It looked like she wanted to respond, but didn't know how.

She then ran out the door.

"Wait!" I wanted to follow.

"No!" Dad stopped me. "She needs to figure some things out on her own."

I still wanted to talk to her, but decided to nod my head and sit back down.

I just hope she can figure things out soon…


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Note: New Followers! Thanks blueblade0007, Rednick2002, and Envy20 for your interest in the story and I hope you, my other followers, and everyone else who reads this continues to enjoy my stories!**

Chapter 4

 **Arnold's POV**

"Okay…" I looked around. "What's this?"

I held up a weird glove with metal tips.

"Heh…something I made myself." Cass grinned. "Sarah of all people knows what that is…"

Ah, I remember now…she mentioned something about this…

"Didn't know you were into electronics." I said.

"We're all given some mechanical aptitude." She told me. "I took a few lessons and came up with that. All I need is a power egg and 'Zap'!"

"But you used a Mini-Zapfish." I pointed out.

"Situation called for it." She said..

"Sarah probably still wants an apology for it." I remarked.

"I'll do it when I feel sorry." She replied.

"You don't feel sorry?" I tilted my head. "Not one bit?"

"She was the enemy." Cass shrugged. "I mean, it's her fault anyway for falling for such an obvious trick."

"…Right…" I rolled my eyes.

"Uh-hey!" She realized she said something wrong. "Look! Smuggled chocolate…"

"Smuggled?" I tilted my head.

"Salmonids sell us some stuff they found while swimming around and have been for a while," She told me. "But the Salmonlings can take requests. They aren't always reliable, but you can get some cool stuff for cheap through them. Like these lovely chocolates!"

She opened the box.

"Open wide…" She said with a seductive grin on her face.

I looked away and opened my mouth. She carefully stuffed the candy in.

…Okay, it was good…honestly, the best thing I've had since coming here…

I looked back at her and she still had that grin on her face.

"…What?" I asked.

"Wanna taste something sweeter?" She asked me, leaning forward.

She got eerily close. My face was getting red.

Uh…

Right after she said that, there was a knock on the door.

"Worst timing ever…" She groaned as she went to answer the door. "What do you wa-Joanne?!"

"Hey, bitch!" The Octoling Elite grabbed Cass and lifted her like she was nothing. "How's my favorite bully?"

"I'm…surprised you remember me…" Cass said. "I mean, the shades make things blurry, don't they?"

"How could I forget you?" Joanne wondered. "Good ol' Cass with the sass and the cute little ass?"

"Heh…while I appreciate the compliment," Cass remarked. "I'm taken."

"Oh, I didn't say I wanted you." Joanne said, earning a groan from Cass. "I just thought I'd drop in and say hi…is that an Inkling?"

She looked at Cass, then at me, and then smirked.

"Cassandra…" She looked back at Cass. "I didn't know your tastes were THAT exotic…"

She then walked over to me, she took off her goggles, revealing her orange eyes.

"Mmmmm…" She was studying me. "Yeah, he's a looker alright…maybe I should sneak off and take an Inkling too…so have you two…you know…?"

Does she mean…?

"N-no!" I finally spoke.

"Oh, he talks…" She seemed surprised. "And his will is strong, Cass."

"I'll get him." Cass told her. "I doubt he'll be able to resist a sexy Octoling forever. He'll crack soon."

"No I won't." I stated.

"Oh, but what about two sexy Octolings?" Joanne asked, getting closer. "Think that'll make ya crack?"

"I…I…uh…" How do I respond?!

"Could work…" Cass was thinking.

"Maybe if we work together, he'll lose it." Joanne told her. "Oh Cass, then maybe you can finally lose it!"

"Lose what?" I was confused.

"Nothing!" Cass shouted. "I have nothing I could possibly lose here! A-and how do you remember that?! You had shades on!"

"Hon, I remember aaaaall of our conversations." Joanne smirked.

"Great…you're unbearable with and without shades…" Cass groaned. "Can you just leave me alone?"

"Okay, sweetheart!" Joanne turned to leave. "Oh, I'm thinking of transferring to Octo Gorge after I get my rematch with that Agent 4. Think you can put in a good word for me?"

"Why should I?" Cass crossed her arms.

"You, keeping an untied Inkling Agent here, doing very little," Joanne listed. "I also heard you requested leave to help 'improve your behavior.' Didn't know that meant trying to get with an Inkling."

"Hey, I'm supposed to blackmail people to get what I want!" Cass hissed. "Don't steal my thunder!"

"Really?" I glared at her.

"Uh…fine, I'll put in a good word for you." Cass agreed. "Now will you leave?"

"Okay." Joanne turned to leave. "Bu-bye!"

The door closed behind her.

"…Now, where were we?" Cass returned her grinning gaze to me.

I kept glaring at her for the blackmail comment.

"…Ugh…" She rolled her eyes. "Don't look at me like that…I'm not a good person…that's a fact you're just going to have to live with."

"You keep saying that." I remarked. "Have you even tried being better?"

"Better?" She looked at me. "I'm an Elite."

"As in a better person." I specified.

"As if I could accomplish that…" She sighed and lied down on the bed.

"It's not as hard as you might think." I told her.

"Then I must be especially incompetent at it." She rolled onto her side, her back facing me.

I sat next to her.

"You want to talk?" I asked. "About your past some more?"

She didn't answer.

"It's fine, you don't have to." I lied down next to her. "Whenever you're ready, right?"

She didn't respond.

I just lied on my side, facing her.

"Goodnight, I guess…" I said.

She then turned over, looking at me with a blank expression.

"…Goodnight…" She replied.

She closed her eyes and fell asleep a few minutes later.

How she can fall asleep so fast astounds me.

I wonder if it's some sort of Octarian technique…

Well, at least she isn't having that loud passed-out-drunk snoring.

I mean, she still snores, but it's a quieter one that's higher pitched and cute…cute...ugh…I just described something about her as cute…

Well, I already called her beautiful once…and while I did it to shut her up…it wasn't a lie…

And I like her singing voice...

And I made out with her twice…

And I'm curious to learn more about her…

Oh Cod…

Why do I get the feeling I won't last as long as I thought…?


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

 **The Next Day…Tim's POV**

I went to bed early yesterday and somehow managed to fall asleep.

Worst birthday ever…

Well, there'll be other ones, I guess…

Oooohhh nooo…I just remembered…

Mom's gonna kill me…

I just…I just…hm?

I noticed someone was watching me.

It was…yet another kimono-clad Octoling girl. She looked a little young though. Around my age, probably.

"Um…are you, you know…the Royal?" She asked.

"Yes." I nodded my head. "I…guess the eyes give it away…I just found out about it yesterday, honestly…"

"Woah…" She seemed to be studying my face. "The closest I've ever been to one since Octavio visited during his latest Zapfish Heist!"

"Does…he do that a lot?" I asked.

"He stole the Great Zapfish twice." She told me. "He stayed here when he wasn't working and he and Miss Callie enjoyed their stay."

Callie? Marie's cousin?

"What was she doing here?" I wondered.

"You didn't hear?" She tilted her head. "She was brainwashed into being Octavio's #2 for his concerts."

'Grandpa' gets worse the more I hear about him…

"And what'd Callie do here?" I was curious.

"She introduced a ton of fresh styles and ideas here." She explained. "It feels a bit staler since she left…"

"Right, so…who are you?" I finally asked.

"My name's Valerie." She introduced herself. "Val for short. I'm Julia's protégé."

"Protégé?" I remembered that term. "I was Octavio's 'protégé'. It didn't end well…"

"How so?" She seemed concerned.

"My mom came along, found out what I was doing, tried to take me away, and Octavio called in this giant floating robot and sent me here." I summed it up. "Now I'm away in a place I've never been, away from my friends, my mom, everything! I'VE BEEN SENT HERE AGAINST MY WILL! I yelled at my mom, who wants to lock me up in our house in the BOONIES! My birthday got ruined! I-"

"Slow down!" She urged me. "I…understand you're under a lot of stress, but yelling won't help anyone."

"…Right…" I sighed. "S-sorry…"

"It's fine..." She looked away. "M-maybe you'd like to relax?"

"Yeah…" I guess. "But how?"

"I can help!" She jumped up. "We helped Octavio relax when he was here!"

"How?" I was curious.

"Well, first what would you like to eat?" She asked.

"Uh…cereal?" I wasn't sure.

"I'll make some eggs." She chuckled.

"Heh…thanks…" She seems nice…right?

I hope she is…

 **Later…**

The breakfast was nice. Not poisoned or anything…

I looked around and noticed something…

"So…are male Octolings a…um…rare?" I wondered. "I've seen plenty in Inkopolis, but not a single one since coming here."

"Oh, that's just due to boarding school-type military academies in some parts of the settlements." She told me. "Granted, there is a higher amount of females than males, but it isn't as drastic as I've heard some Inklings believe."

I see…

"So you relax with nice breakfasts?" I guessed.

"Oh, no." She shook her head. "We use the spring to relax."

"The Spring?" I tilted my head. "What's that?"

"It's wonderful!" She stated.

 **Shortly After…**

It was a large, open area full of hot shallow water. I think I saw pictures of these once…I think they have some in old ex-Octarian territories…

"Wow…" Was all I could say. "So…do I soak my feet or something?"

"Or your whole body for a while." She shrugged. "When the king was here, he just dipped his whole self in with only the top sticking out. I guess it gave him a nostalgia trip."

"So do I get a suit?" I asked.

"Oh…" She seemed surprised. "It's outdoor bathing, Tim."

"…Oh…" I understood.

I was led into a room where I got ready. A few minutes later, I walked out and entered the water.

"Aaaaaahhhhhh…" This felt nice. "I wonder if this is what a hot tub feels like. Or maybe this is better? Not sure…"

Wow this steam is thick…

I can barely see the other side of the spring, and the wall, and the people over th…people?

I squinted my eyes and there were some people on the other side. I couldn't make them out though…

"Uh…Hi!" I waved.

The figures looked my way and made their way over.

As they got closer, I could see they were…Oh dear!

I shot down so only my head was poking out of the water and covered my eyes.

I could hear one get closer.

"Oh, is this the Royal?" She asked.

"He's adorable!" Another squealed.

"I-I'm sorry!" I apologized. "I-I didn't know this was a girls' spring!"

"Oh, it's fine." A third girl assured me. "We only have one spring and anyone's welcome."

"I-isn't is awkward?" I still had my eyes covered.

"Hm…no." The second girl replied. "I mean, military showers are communal, so no one's bothered by it."

"But I found my bro alone with his girlfriend and it was awkward." The third one said.

"It's context." The first one replied. "It's the context of the situation that can make it awkward."

"W-well, I'm new to this, so it's very awkward for me…" I told them. "I-I should leave…"

"We can just go back to the other side." The third one offered. "You shouldn't be able to see us through the steam."

"Th-that's fair…" I agreed.

They then proceeded to head back to the other side. I then uncovered my eyes to check and sighed in relief.

"This is nice…" I remarked as I lied back a bit.

"Yes, it is." Another voice agreed.

I turned my head to the left to find Valerie soaking her feet…Oh, thank Cod, she's wearing a towel…still doesn't leave much to the imagination though…I shouldn't stare, right?

Don't stare…

Don't stare…

"M-maybe I should leave…" I suggested. "I feel weird here…Can you hand me my towel?"

"Oh, sure." She reached out for it. "Here."

I reached out for it, then stopped when I noticed her expression changed. I looked and noticed my green X mark was showing.

"Uh…I…" She then cut me off with a hand to my mouth.

"I know what that is…" She whispered. "I'd suggest keeping that hidden…"

I nodded my head and she got up and urged me to follow her.

I quickly made myself somewhat decent and followed her. She led me into the changing room I used.

"Look, you may be the heir," Val told me. "But some may not see it that way. Miss Julia's been trying to win Lord Octavio's favor for a while now and she may feel cheated if she sees you were chosen."

Oh no…

"H-hey, it's okay!" She assured me. "Your secret's safe with me."

"It is?" I was surprised.

"Yeah." She nodded her head. "I have no friends my age here, so I don't wanna risk losing my first chance at making one."

"Is that why you've been so friendly?" I wondered.

"Miss Julia says first impressions are everything." She said. "So-uh…how'd I do?"

"Uh…" I was trying not to stare. "Fine…m-maybe I should get my gi back on…this…is…awkward for me…"

"Oh dear, those prudish Inklings ruined you…" She shook her head. "I'll grab my things and leave you alone to change."

"Heh…okay…" I chuckled as she left the room.

…

Well, she looks nice…

I mean, she IS nice!

…Oh dear…

 **Author's Note: Well, it seems like Tim has a friend down in the domes. Hopefully, things will go well for him…**


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

 **Cuttlefish Cabin…**

Mei and Beth arrived back from the Square. Octavio had been moved back to his snowglobe, looking unhappy as usual.

"Sup." Agent 3 nonchalantly waved at the DJ. "I see you've come back."

"Can it." He grumbled. "I've been separated from my family yet again and locked in here…yet again. I don't want any sass."

"You deserve sass." Agent 8 said, crossing her arms.

"Guys, I'd rather not start another argument." Agent 2 sighed. "He's bad enough when we aren't trying to upset him."

"I'm here!" Marina shouted as she just arrived with Pearl in-tow.

"Great, another traitor." Octavio rolled his eyes. "Just what I needed…"

"Someone mad he got captured again?" Pearl quipped.

"I'm mad ma little protégé's not around anymore." Octavio groaned. "At least he was good for conversation…"

"Protégé? " Marina was confused.

"Did…no one tell you?" Three asked her. "Tim and his friend were the ones who broke Octavio out because he wanted a music teacher."

"He what?!" Pearl shouted.

"Oh…" Marina looked down. "That…would explain part of how he was learning so fast…but since when does the King take protégés?"

"He made an exception for his long-lost grandson." Agent 2 told her.

"Say whaaaaaat?!" Pearl's eyes widened.

Marina's laptop fell with a ***Clank*** and she quickly picked it up and brushed it off.

"Turns out Octavio Jr.'s wife survived and made it all the way to Cirrina." Eight told her.

"I…wow…" Marina was processing that.

"He had good things to say about you." Octavio added. "You bit my style, but you helped me help my heir get on his musical way. For that, I'd say…one year of hypnoshades. A whole ten years off yo sentence!"

"How thoughtful…" Marina rolled her eyes. "Wait, heir?"

"He also marked Tim, or Octavio the Third, to be his heir." Three informed her.

 ***Clank***

"Geez, what's wrong with me, today?" Marina asked herself, scooping up her laptop again. "Sorry, I'm going to set up my laptop. I need to process this…"

"Wait…" Pearl stopped her. "So, after DJ Octavio retires or kicks the bucket, the next King will be…DJ Octavio?"

"Aaaand setting up now!" Marina was trying to get her mind off the shock of the reveals.

"…So good news, we have a Cephalopod on the inside." Agent 2 told the musical duo.

"And it is…?" Marina was curious.

"An Elite named Joanne." Agent 2 told her and Pearl. "You know her?"

"We don't all know each other…" Marina said, crossing her arms. "Wait, melee combat-based? Over the top attitude?"

"Yes…" Agent 2 raised an eyebrow.

"…Clam it…" Marina did know her. "I met her in Elite Training. She's…much…"

"Well, she'll be much help to us now." Two assured her. "She'll be transferring to Octo Gorge to be our own spy. She'll let us know of any possible places we could sneak into to break Alice out."

"Nice!" Pearl fist-bumped the air.

"But unfortunately…she won't go immediately…" Two sighed.

"Why not?" Marina raised an eyebrow.

"She…wants a rematch with Agent 4 first." Three told her. "Apparently they've fought before and she wants to 'prove who's best'."

"…Yeah, that sounds like her…" Marina sighed. "Well, at least she's helpful when she needs to be."

"Another traitor…" Octavio crossed his arms. "Should'a figured."

"She's not 'betraying'." Mei told him. "She's just trying to help stop a war so we can maybe have a peaceful resolution to our society's problems."

"I don't know how many times you idiots are gonna try that." Octavio shook his head.

"Octavio Jr. wanted a peaceful solution." Eight reminded him.

"AND LOOK WHERE THAT GOT HIM!" Octavio roared as he pounded his tentacles on the glass, causing it to crack slightly. "Hmph! Clearly y'all fall into insanity when I don't hypnotize ya, because y'all wanna try the same thing again expectin' different results!"

Agent 8 huffed and sat down, arms crossed.

"If only I could talk to Junior Jr." Octavio grumbled. "Wait…my phone!"

"The one you called the Octobot King with?" Agent 2 tilted her head.

"Yeah!" Octavio nodded his head. "I can call him with that!"

"We're not going to let you use that." Three told him. "You'll try to break out."

"Then you find him on contacts and put it next to the glass." Octavio said. "Please?"

Three raised an eyebrow, then went into the cabin, bringing out a phone.

"Is this it?" She asked.

"Yup!" Octavio looked happy.

"Beth, what are you doing?!" Eight shot up.

"Codenames, Eight." Three smirked. "And besides…he said 'please'."

Eight's eyes widened and she let Three through.

"Alright…Tim." She found the contact. "Here."

She pressed the phone against the glass.

"…Hello?" Tim's voice was on the other side.

"Eyyy!" Octavio greeted him. "How's ma favorite grandson?"

"Uh…okay?" Tim guessed. "I'm still kind of mad…"

"Ah, you'll get over it." Octavio shrugged. "Wait'll you get to the Valley. You'll have access to my best equipment! That'll be my last birthday gift to ya, if a bit belated."

"From the person who ruined my birthday…" Tim pointed out.

"I…uh…well…"Octavio was caught off-guard by that. "It was supposed to be the three of us, me you, and your mom, but my fanboy and yer mom ruined that."

"I just wanted to spend my birthday having fun with my friends!" Tim shouted. "Now, I'm in an underground place I've never been before, with people I don't know, and I can't leave, and I yelled at my mom last night, so she's gonna kill me for that!"

"I…um…" Octavio was trying to think of something to say. "C-come on, you know your Grandpa was thinkin' of what was best for ya, right?"

"…I don't think I'm going to call you that…" Tim said.

"Eh..?" Octavio was caught off-guard again.

"I didn't know about you until recently, you barely acted like family, mostly like a teacher, and you burned me and took my away from my mom and my friends." Tim explained. "So far…I don't feel like calling you 'grandpa' yet…"

"…" Octavio was at a loss for words. "…Understandable…"

"…I-uh…guess I'll hang up now…" Tim told him.

"…Alright…" Octavio sighed. "That's fair…"

The phone then hung up and Octavio sank to the bottom of the snowglobe, arms crossed, looking downward, and completely silent.

The agents and Off the Hook stared at each other and Octavio.

"Well, that was depressing…" Agent 2 finally spoke.

"You-um…okay?" Three actually asked Octavio.

The DJ didn't respond.

"W-well, let's get to finding a way into the Central dome!" Marina suggested.

The agents nodded their heads and gathered around her.

 **Elsewhere…Amphia's POV**

Ugh…I ended up sleeping at the train station last night…my back hurts…

And to add to that, I have no idea what to do...

Tim…

Why…?

I just…wanted to keep you safe…

I didn't want to lose you too…

Is that so wrong…?

I don't even know…

I…

Tim, I just want to talk to you…

"Tim!" I heard a voice yell.

"Little man!" Another voice yelled.

"Hm?" I walked over. "Excuse me, but did you say Tim?"

"Yeah, he's our roommate." A squid girl with tied-up tentacles told me. "You know him?"

"I'm his mother…" I told them.

"Where is he?" A spiky-haired squid boy asked.

"He…" How do I put this? "He's in trouble…"

 **Later…**

George kicked open the door to his apartment.

"Sheryl!" He shouted. "We've got a situation!"

"What situation?!" The person I think was Sheryl shouted from the other room.

"Make yourself decent and get over here!" George told her.

After a minute, she came out. Her shirt was on backwards…

"What's going on?" She wondered.

"Tim got taken to Octo Canyon." Carol told her.

"He…what?!" Sheryl freaked out. "Why?!"

"Turns out…that DJ I found him…was his grandpa…" George explained. "This is all my fault…"

"No…" I sighed. "It's mine…"

"Hey, don't beat yourself up." George told me. "Just sit here while we talk."

"…Okay…" I sat down.

The two started giving Sheryl the details of what I told them happened. I don't know when, but someone put some electronic song on the music player.

"What song is this?" I wondered.

"It's a song Tim made." Carol told me. "I don't think he named it yet."

"Tim…made this…?" I looked at them, eyes wide.

"Yup!" Sheryl nodded her head. "He was really happy to show all his friends that song!"

Huh…

"Hey, don't worry." George put a hand on my shoulder. "We'll get the little man back."

"Please do…" I started weeping a bit. "I…he's surely furious at me…I…I don't care if he never speaks to me again…I just…I want to see him…happy…"

"We will." George assured me.

"Uh, George…" Carol interrupted. "We can't just go down into that Canyon and fight an army."

"…Maybe WE can't…" George went to a closet and pulled something out that I didn't see. "But I know some people who can…"

Sheryl and Carol's Eyes widened.

"You think she'll want to come along?" Sheryl asked.

"I'll give her a call!" Carol took her phone out and called someone. "Hey, listen. _We need a paint job_."


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

 **Arnold's POV**

I was reading Cass's 'Octarian Digest' Magazine. Well, I couldn't read it, so I was looking at the pictures. Cass came in a few minutes later.

"Welcome back." I said.

"Sorry, Arnie." She sweetly said. "I just got out of the shower…"

"You know that only works on the phone, right?" I wondered. "And I'm supposed to imagine you wearing only a towel or something."

"…Shit!" She realized her mistake. "I'm bad at this…"

"Cass…" I gestured her to sit on the bed. She did. "I've been thinking..."

She sat down next to me.

"Yeah?" She tilted her head.

"I've decided to give you a chance." I looked at her. "If you can control your violent tendencies, bad behavior, and try to be a better person, I'll give dating you a chance."

Her eyes widened.

"I'll…attempt…"Cass said. "You sure you aren't lying to me?"

"Nope." I shook my head. "You're someone who's interested in me. I…guess I'll give you a chance."

"…Prove it, then." Cass crossed her arms.

I swallowed, then put my arms on her shoulders and kissed her.

"…Nice…" She nodded her head. "But I meant more like this…"

She shoved her mouth onto mine and started tongue wrestling with me. I fell backwards, but the kiss wasn't broken. It ended up with her lying on top of me as we made out for a few minutes.

"…I…" I finally broke it. "…Will…admit I missed that…"

"Same here…" She grinned. "Now, how about we continue on with no interruptions?"

"Oh…uh…I…" How do I respond?!

"Ssssshhhh…" She rubbed my hair-tentacles. "It's okay…just relax and-"

"Cassandra to the Commander's Office." A voice on the intercom said. "Cassandra, you are wanted at the Commander's Office."

"CLAM-BLOCKING CLOSET LESBO!" Cass shouted as she got up and stomped to the door. "What does she even want?!"

"Maybe it's my friends in the Splatoon." I suggested. "You think something happened to them?"

"Who cares?" She shrugged.

I glared at her.

"I do!" She shouted. "I toootally care! I...sorry...I'm just sick of this same shit happening."

"I-it's okay, Cass." I assured her. "There'll be another time."

"Yeah…" She sighed. "Uh-um…I'm gonna…leave the door unlocked this time…in case a dome collapse happens…okay?"

"O…kaaaay…" Oddly specific…

"It'll be fine." She assured me. "I'm sure it's nothing to worry about."

 **Elsewhere…Sarah's POV**

Alright, back in action!

Guyver and I made our way down to the Cabin.

"We're back!" I shouted.

Callie and Marie waved at us. I then noticed the filled snowglobe.

"Well, well-" Something was off. "What happened to you?"

"Don't wanna talk about it…" Octavio groaned.

"Where'd your wasabi sticks go? Guyver asked, noticing they were gone.

"I ate them!" Octavio answered. "Agent Marie forgot to feed me again."

"How do you even…?" Is there a mouth at the bottom?

"My eyes are up here!" He growled.

"Sorry!" I apologized. "Aaaanyway…I'm ready to storm that castle and get our friend back!"

"Not you yet." Marie told me. "You're going to the Suction Cup Lookout Boss Kettle."

"Why?" Guyver asked.

"We have someone there who really wants to see you." Marie didn't explain. "I suggest going there ASAP with your Brush."

"Er-right…" I guess…

 **Ten Minutes Later…**

Okaaaay…huh…I think this is the first time I've been here…

Is…that an Octoling?

Yup, an Octoling sitting in the middle with her back turned.

"Ah, you came…" She got up and turned around. "Brought your Brush?"

"Yes…" I brought it out, a little weirded out.

"Then let's get to it, hon." She smirked as she held up her brush.

"Do I…know you?" She seems familiar.

"I'm surprised you forgot me…" She remarked. "How's about I give ya a reminder?"

She immediately rushed at me, swinging her Brush. I blocked her strike.

"Geez, can ya lighten up?" I asked.

"Nope!" She smirked. "I've been itchin' for a rematch!"

"…Heeeey, I remember you now…" I realized. "Didn't I beat you two times?"

"First time, I was hypnotized and you got lucky." She said. "Second time, I wasn't trying to splat you. I had letters to deliver."

"Excuses." I rolled my eyes. "Well, time to make it three."

I broke the standstill and swung my Brush. She dodged out of the way and swung downward. I rolled out of the way and kept my distance.

Unfortunately, she's good at closing distance and was in my face yet again. Strike after strike, she did not let up. I managed to get close to damaging her a few times, but one lucky smack sent me flying to the edge.

I was got up to find her closing the distance yet again.

Something was off…

Wait a minute…

"Hold on…" I spoke and she stopped. "Agent 2 told me to come here…just to fight you?"

She rested her Brush on her shoulder and smirked.

"Good thing the only cameras they left in here are from a distance and have no sound." She remarked. "Yeah, I just wanted a rematch before helping you guys stop a war."

"Huh…" That's a surprise. "Okay…now, where were we?"

She wasted no time in charging at me again. I blocked her strike and tripped her, but she regained her footing and knocked the Brush out of my hands.

"I win, honnie." She smiled before-

 ***Splat!***

I respawned with my gear at the entrance of the Kettle. I looked over to see her smile and wave before Superjumping out of the ring.

Great…my streak's broken…

 **Back at the Cabin…**

Well, Guyver was kind enough to wait for me.

"So…what was that all about?" I asked Marie. "She wanted to fight me, but is helping us?"

"Joanne is going to be our spy in Octo Gorge." Marie explained. "She just wanted a rematch with you before that happened."

Oh…

"So what now?" I wondered.

"Now, we help find your friend." Marie told us.

"Alright!" Guyver got excited.

"Ah, Agent 2…" A mysterious voice spoke. "It's been a while…"

We looked over to see…Greg…and some other Inklings coming out of the manhole.

"Woah!" The one I recognized as Denise shouted. "Agent 2 is Marie?!"

"We really should lock that floundering thing…" Marie groaned. "Hi, Greg. What brings you here?"

"A little birdie told me that there's been a squidnapping." Greg said. "Can't let Inkopolis residents get pushed around by the Octarian menace now, can we?"

"How did you know about that?" Marie was puzzled.

"Sarah!" Sylvia ran out. "Sylvia Humboldt, reporting for duty! I've brought the Cavalry! We're going to get Tim back!"

I pulled Sylvia over to the side.

"Sylvia, are you crazy?!" I whispered. "I've met Greg and he hates Octolings! He let one die because he didn't want to save her!"

"What?!" She was surprised to hear. "When?!"

"It was during a mission Guyver and I were on…" I explained. "We ran into them while they were on a Salmon Run and he let someone die."

"Oh…w-well, don't worry…" She shook her head. "Because now, he'll help us get Tim back!"

Wait…

"Does he know Tim's an Octoling?" I asked her.

Her eyes widened and she then had a guilty look on her face.

"Sylvia, if Greg finds out Tim's an Octoling, he'll definitely quit this rescue mission." I told her. "Shell, if he finds out Tim's the heir of the Octarians, who's to say he won't turn it into an assassination mission?"

All the color seemed to drop from Sylvia's face at that thought. She then looked back at the other Defenders.

"I don't wanna see you move away from your friend in the snowglobe, Octarian." Greg told Guyver.

"We aren't friends and I'd like to see you make me." Guyver replied before getting a Dualie in his face.

Guyver than begrudgingly sat down next to Octavio's snowglobe.

"Good octopus." Greg said. "Now stay there if you know what's good for you."

Sylvia then realized she clearly didn't think this through…

"I'm sorry…" She said. "I-I woke up in the hospital, last thing I remember was Tim being taken, and they happened to be there…"

"Hey, Silvia!" Sylvia's friend Denise suddenly butted in. "Do you think that after this is all done, we can get Marie's autograph?"

"Maybe…" Sylvia guessed. "Denise…can I ask you something?"

"Sure." Denise nodded her head.

"Do…you think Octarians are all bad?" Sylvia asked.

"Well, if they're planning on attacking Inkopolis and squidnapping people, they need to be stopped." Denise answered. "Greg says not to trust any of them…and…I'm…I'm not sure what to think…"

"What's Greg's deal?" I wanted to know. "One Octoling did bad things and he hates all of them?"

"He told us his best friends died because of an Octoling." Denise told me. "He and his friends took her in and she stole Zapfish, beat him up, and killed his friends."

"Geez…" That's rough… "Well, they aren't all like that. I live with Guyver and he's amazing!"

"Well…I just exercise some caution..." Denise said. "I don't know what to expect…"

"They aren't bad, Denise…" I looked her in the eye.

She looked as if she was thinking.

"You two done talking?" Someone next to Greg asked.

"Y-yes, Oscar!" Sylvia broke the unintentional huddle. "Guess…we'll see what happens…"

Yeah…I guess we will…


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

 **Octo Canyon Central Dome…Tim's POV**

"I win!" Val cheered.

"Man…" I rubbed the back of my head. "I'm terrible at this game…"

"You're doing fine." She assured me. "You just need practice."

I guess…

"Hey, don't be like that." She said. "I've played this a ton with Miss Julia while you just started."

"Yeah…" I nodded my head. "So…why did Julia make you her protégé? Did she find out you're related to her?"

"Oh, no." Val shook her head. "She found me after a dome collapse. She noticed I had some above average scores in the recruitment screening tests I got and decided to take me in. She says it's because I have to potential to be a genius, but I don't feel much different from the others. Maybe she sees something I don't?"

"I guess Octavio did too…" I shrugged.

"So…" She got closer. "What's the surface like?"

"It's…nice…" I guess. "Depending on where you are, of course. The city is pretty busy while the countryside is very quiet."

"How's the food?" She wondered, lying on her stomach.

"Great!" I said. "You should try the Crust Bucket sometime!"

"What do you do for fun?" She tilted her head.

"Well, I've played some games, listened to music," I listed. "Oh, but I really like playing Ink Battles with my friends!"

"Ink Battles?" She seemed new to the term. "So you kill people?"

"I-uh…I did once…" I admitted. "B-but Ink Battles doesn't involve that! It's about covering Turf, splatting opponents, and having fun!"

"You respawn, right?" She wanted to be sure.

"Yeah!" I nodded my head.

"Doesn't that…hurt?" She looked nervous. "Respawning?"

"Oh, no!" I assured her. "Surface spawners are instant."

"Oh, good." She sighed. "Maybe I'll get to try it someday…"

"Well, if I get back to the surface, I'd be glad to bring you along." I admitted. "To be honest, only one of my friends on the surface is an Octoling, so it'd be nice to make some more Octoling friends."

"Ah, so you'd like to fit in a bit more?" She guessed. "Heh…not that it's too much of a bother, but I don't have a single guy friend. It's all women here."

"Why?" That's weird.

"Well…" She scratched her cheek. "Miss Julia is…well…heh…she has preferences…even if she claims she doesn't."

"…I don't get it…" I told her.

Val was about to say something, but Julia then came in the room.

"…Why are you two in my office?" Julia asked.

"S-sorry…" I apologized. "Val wanted to play this board game, and it was in your office, so we decided to play it here."

She looked at Val, then at me and narrowed her eyes.

"Val, I have some business to attend to soon, so I'll need the office." Julia said. "Why don't you make yourself some lunch?"

"Right…" Val packed up the game and left the room.

I was about to follow her when Julia stopped me.

"You eyeing my protégé?" She asked me.

"Eyeing?" I tilted my head. "I-I mean, I stared a little bit at the Spring, but that's because I'm not used to…springs, I guess…"

"…Well, keep those eyes to yourself…" She narrowed her eyes. "You may be royalty, but you came from Inkopolis. As far as she's concerned, you're just a low-class hick and she's far above a pervert like you."

"I-I'm not a pervert…whatever that is…" I assured her. "I just want to be friends. That's all."

"…Just…friends?" She narrowed her eyes further. "I'll have you know my little protégé is the sweetest, smartest, prettiest little Tubeling I've ever met! You look at her and don't pine for her?! You think you're too good for her?!"

"What?!" How do I respond?! "No! L-look, I'm just trying to-"

The door then slammed open.

"What do you want?!" Some angry-looking Octoling came in.

"Cassandra, you were made quite aware of the dress-code!" Julia crossed her arms. "Where's your kimono?"

"Like I have the time to change every time I come in here." Cassandra rolled her eyes. "Now what do you want?"

"…There appears to be a large amount of Inklings making their way into the Canyon." Julia told her. "I'm sending you with a unit of Central Elites to combat them."

"We'll fight them off." Cassandra turned to leave.

"Right you do…" Julia shrugged. "…Abusive bitch…"

Woah!

"Treasonous twat." Cassandra replied as she walked out.

"Perverted harlot!"

"Narcissistic cunt!"

These words!

"Pathetic weakling!"

"Closet lesbo!"

Cassandra then left the room and closed the door.

Closets? What?

"I AM NOT!" Julia shouted. "I don't know why Sieg promoted you, but it clearly wasn't for your skills or your intellect! I thought you were supposed to be good at reading people."

The door then slammed open, Cassandra stomping in.

"Touched a nerve, did I?" Julia smirked. "Are you to give me a thrashing for my words?"

Cassandra then grabbed Julia's arms.

"What?!" Julia was struggling. "C-Cassandra?! Wha…Cass, what are you-"

My eyes widened and my hair tentacles curled up as much as they could when Cassandra covered Julia's mouth with her own. Julia seemed to struggle for a few seconds before her arms went limp.

Woah…

Cassandra then broke the kiss and stared at Julia.

"You gonna stop your bullshark now?" Cass asked.

"…Y-yes…" Julia nodded her head.

"Good." Cassandra then dropped Julia, who landed with a 'Thud,' and left the room.

After a few seconds, Julia's gaze returned to me.

"…What are you looking at?" She narrowed her eyes.

"Uh…um…" How to put this? "Is it weird…that…I…kind of want to see that again?"

"…No…" She sighed. "…W-why don't you just…have lunch with Valerie?"

"Um…okay…" I quickly rushed out of the room and down the hallway, bumping into someone.

"Careful, runt!" Cassandra shouted.

"S-sorry!" I apologized.

"…You're the Royal, aren't you?" She noticed. "I heard you arrived…"

"Y-yeah…" I nodded my head. "And I-uh…wasn't expecting what you did back there…"

"Yeah, long story short, I got tired of her ridiculous self-denial." Cassandra shrugged. "Octo, I hope Arnold doesn't find out I did that…Well, gotta go fight off some Inklings…"

"W-wait, Inklings?!" I stopped her. "Are they my friends?!"

"Shell if I know." She shrugged. "It's most likely the Splatoon."

"My friends are in the Splatoon!" I shouted. "Um…Can you please not hurt them?"

"I'll have to fight them off, you know." She pointed out.

"W-well…not hurt them too much?" I begged. "I wanna see them again…"

She raised an eyebrow, then looked like she was thinking…

"I make no promises…" She said. "But…I'll-uh…try…"

My worried expression turned into a bright smile.

"…Don't get mushy on me…" She groaned. "I'm not doing this just because you asked…"

"Well, thanks anyway, Cassandra!" I thanked her.

"Just call me Cass." She told me.

"Thanks, Cass." I corrected myself.

"…You're…welcome…" She sounded like she was struggling to say that.

She then turned to leave.

What was I doing, again?

Oh, right…lunch with Valerie…

I walked to the dining room. There, Val had already gotten…Cephola Soup? I haven't had that since I left Cirrina…

"I heated up some leftovers." She said. "Dig in!"

I was about to, but stopped.

"You're…being very nice…" I noticed.

"Thanks!" She smiled.

"Is there a reason?" I asked.

"Julia tells me to be polite and hospitable." She told me. "Why?"

"Well…it's just…sometimes, people who've been nice to me…weren't so nice later…" I told her.

"What do you mean?" She tilted her head.

"Well…I nearly starved, but this one guy helped me…" I explained. "…He…then turned out to be a total psychopath who tried to kill me because he thought I was a hybrid…"

She covered her mouth with her hands.

"And…Octavio helped me…" I continued. "…Then he sent me here, away from my mom and my friends…"

She then got up and walked over.

"I almost died in a dome collapse once…" She told me, holding my head. "I can't imagine a crazy person trying to kill me…or getting separated from family I've never had…but…you can talk to me about it…if you want…"

I reached my arms around and gave her a hug.

Thanks…" I then let go. "Now-uh…how about we eat before the food gets cold?"

"Okay." She released me. "Let's dig in!"

"Sounds good to me!" I grinned.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

 **Sarah's POV**

Great…now these jokers are here to make things more difficult…

Marie's trying to figure out what to do…

The other Agents still need to get here…

And Greg's still pointing his Dualie at Guyver…

"Hey, Greg?" I walked over. "Maybe you should let the professionals handle this?"

"Professional?" He raised an eyebrow. "We've been practicing our splatting skills daily. We're ready to protect Inkopolis and its inhabitants at a moment's notice."

"And yet, you're threatening one of its inhabitants." I pointed out.

"I'm not threatening an Inkopolis inhabitant." He replied. "I'm threatening an invader from the Octarian Menace."

"Please stop calling it that…" Guyver sighed.

"Did I say you could talk, Octopus?" Greg put the Dualie against Guyver's head.

"Can you stop pointing a Dualie my boyfriend?!" I blurted.

"Boyfriend?" Greg looked at Guyver, then at me. "Ah…"

Greg then walked over to me. I saw Marie looked a little nervous.

"I had a friend who fell for an Octoling once…" He told me. "You know what happened to him?"

I shook my head.

"THAT BITCH FED HIM TO A FUCKING SALMONID!" He yelled.

I stood there stiff as he stared me dead in the eye.

"W-whatever Octoling you ran into back then…" I finally spoke. "Guyver's nothing like that. The Octolings I've met in the city…they're nothing like that."

"You'll find Octarians are good liars…" He said. "You let them in and before you know it, your best friend's Salmon food and your girlfriend gets her head bashed in."

"Ahem…" The one I remembered was Oscar fake-coughed.

"R-right…" Greg backed away from me. "Sorry, Oscar…"

Why was Oscar uncomfortable?

"I'm here, guys!" Marina came in. "Now let's…uuuuuhhhh…"

She was clearly confused.

"It's Marina!" Mia was her name, shouted. "Eeeeek!"

"She's an Octoling!" Greg told her.

"One of my Idols is an Octoling?!" Mia was shocked. "I'm not sure if I can trust her…she's more mysterious now! Aaaaaah!"

Greg seemed annoyed that she was still fangirling.

"Um…what's going on?" Marina was confused.

"Greg and his friends want to hijack our mission." Marie told her.

"And she's here because…?" Greg was curious.

"She gives us detailed maps of the settlements." Marie told him. "She. Helps. Us."

"She does for now…" Greg crossed his arms. "Well, my team will find this 'Tim' and stop whatever they have planned."

"Do you even have a plan?" Marie crossed her arms. "I doubt you even know the layout of the Canyon. You'd basically be wandering the Canyon for hours, splatting every Octarian you came across, and getting nowhere."

"Then just point us in the direction of wherever you think he'll be held." Greg said.

"Not happening." Marie stood her ground. "Go home."

"No!" Greg shouted. "I'm tired of these Octos coming here, killing people, stealing resources, and doing whatever they want! The line needs to be drawn here!"

"Hey, Greg?" I walked over. "How about a compromise?"

"What?!" Marie couldn't believe it.

"…Go on…" Greg was interested.

"What if we paired up?" I suggested. "You lend your 'skills' and we keep your team under control? You help us get in and you only shoot at the Octarians who shoot back."

"…That doesn't sound too bad actually…" He admitted. "Though that would mean working with…them…"

He gave Marie a cold stare.

"Seriously?" Marie glared at him. "Wasn't it us who got you out of the nut house?"

"You put me back in!" Greg shouted.

"Because we saw you ARE nuts!" Marie replied.

"What'd he do?" I was curious.

"I wanted to actually take action against the Octarian menace." Greg said.

"He was put in an asylum because he was raving about Octarians all the time, trying to spread paranoia and get people to fight them." Marie explained. "We brought him out because he knew about the missing Zapfish and tried recruiting him, but he wanted us to squidnap some Octarians and make them confess to being up to no good in front of some politicians. We said no, he wanted to do it himself, and we put him back. He clearly wanted to start a war, but the Splatoon's purpose is to defend Inkopolis without the need for a war."

She then took a deep breath because she used up all her air explaining that.

"Well, maybe working together can calm his head." I suggested. "I mean, who knows? Maybe we can bring out the best in both of our groups."

"That's my captain!" Sylvia cheered.

"I like her style." Denise agreed.

"Well, everyone else was busy," Oscar said. "So numbers could benefit both our groups in this case."

"…Well, since the rest of my group agrees, we'll go with that plan." Greg agreed.

"We'll just wait until 3 and 8 get here, then we'll start." Marie said.

"An Agent 3?" Greg raised an eyebrow. "And you have 8 agents now?"

"No, the Agent 8 thing is a long story." Marie sighed. "And 3 rescued the Great Zapfish two years ago."

"And Otis and I did it the last time it happened!" I proudly stated. "Agent 4 here!"

"Codenames, 4…" Marie groaned. "And yes, both times the Great Zapfish was taken, the Splatoon got it back."

"I see…" Greg seemed intrigued. "And how will we be pairing?"

"Well, since Sarah and Guyver were on the same tournament team with Sylvia," Marina brought up. "Maybe they can work together?"

"I'll go on that team too." Greg insisted. "Gotta watch that Octoling…"

Greg glared at Guyver, who glared back.

"Well, I should get ready if I'm going to be on this team." Guyver said, getting up. "I'm going to be next to Sarah if that's okay."

Greg just stood there in silence.

"Well then, who wants to go with 3 and 8?" Marie asked.

"I guess I'll go." Oscar volunteered. "How about you, Mia?"

"I guess…" Mia shrugged.

"Mia…" I heard Marie mumble. "Why does that name sound familiar?"

"Wait…" Denise stopped. "Eeeeek! Does that mean I go with you?!"

"Uh…" Marie wasn't sure how to respond. "Suuuurre…you and me, squidkid."

Denise then did a happy little dance that managed to get a chuckle out of a few of us, even Greg.

Well, time to wait for Mei and Beth…


	10. Chapter 10

**Author's Note: New Follower! Thanks for following this story and I hope you, my other followers, and everyone else who reads this continues to enjoy my works!**

Chapter 10

 **Flounder Heights…Mei's POV**

I knocked on the door. A few moments later, Otis answered.

"Hi, Otis." I waved. "Beth and I just wanted to check up on you. Make sure you're fine staying here.

"Eh, I'm fine." He shrugged. "Got babysitting to do though."

"Is Terry doing alright?" Beth asked.

"Oh, he's fine." Otis answered. "He's searching for a job in fact. I meant Finnia."

"Finnia's back?" I tilted my head.

"Yeah." Otis nodded his head. "She came back last night."

"People here?" We heard Finnia's voice. "Finnia want meet!"

"Oh, sure." Beth walked forward. "Why not?"

"W-wait, Beth!" Otis tried stopping her. "She's tak-"

Beth stopped when she turned the corner, eyes wide.

"Finnia!" Otis shouted. "Room! Clothes! Now!"

"O-K!" I heard Finnia run and a door shut.

"…Well then…" Beth turned to leave. "I saw more than I needed to today…"

"I tried to warn you…" Otis shrugged. "Just come back when she understands society a bit more."

"Okay…" Beth grabbed my hand. "Come on, Mei. We've got an Octo to save."

"…It's okay, Beth." I assured her as we got down the stairs. "Same thing happened to me, but with Terry."

"When?" She was surprised to hear.

"The other day when I talked him into helping me with your-ahem…problem." I told her.

"Oh…" She understood.

 **20 Minutes Later…Cuttlefish Cabin**

We arrived at the cabin and…who are these people?

"Uuuuuhhh…" Beth looked around, confused.

"Long story short, these squids decided to get involved." Agent 2 told us.

"Is that Greg?" She recognized one of the squids. "Is that Mia?!"

"You know them?" I was surprised to hear.

"Greg is a giant asshole," Beth told me.

"I heard that!" Greg shouted.

"Don't care!" Beth replied. "And Mia…is a touchy subject…"

O…kaaay…

"And you two are going to be paired with her and Oscar." Agent 2 told us.

"Huh?" I was confused.

"Look, it was Sarah's idea to compromise." Agent 2 informed us. "Now let's get a move-on already!"

"Y-yes, Miss!" I saluted.

 **Later…**

Okay, so we're paired up with this Oscar guy and a Mia that Beth seems to dislike for whatever reason. The feeling seemed to be mutual, but to a lesser extent.

"Okay, make your way down the Hallway and the B-team will come up from the other side." Marina told us over the comms.

"Right." Agent 3 nodded her head.

We headed forward only to be stopped by a group of Elites. They fired at us and we returned fire. With more of us here though, we were actually pushing them back. Splat after splat, it seemed like we were actually going to succeed this time. Unfortunately, our progress halted as soon as we could see the Castle.

Oh Cod…those were Valley Central Elites…

"Two, we're pinned down!" I shouted into the headset. "They've got Valley Central Elites here!"

"Is that bad?" Mia asked.

"Best of the best troops!" I told her. "Julia must've gotten some transferred here just in case…"

"So what do we do, Octoling?" Oscar asked.

"I'm trying to think!" I spat. "…Wait, the vents again!"

I quickly dove into the next room and dove into one of the vents. The others followed me in. We were just about to get to the right exit when some ink started shooting from the other side. I quickly went a different direction. With the others noticing the oncoming fire as well, we were quickly scattered.

"Uh...they saw through the vent trick." I told Agent 2. "How's the B-team doing?"

"They're nearing the fake grass." Agent 2 told me. "Or…maybe it's real? Well, they're closer than you seem to be."

"Jeez, these runts just don't quit." Cass's voice spoke from below me. "Or…well…maybe they do? I don't see them."

"They're in the vents." Another Elite told her. "Be on the lookout."

"Right…" I could see her aiming at the vent openings.

"Cass…" I quietly hissed.

"Cass?" I saw that Mia girl. "...I've heard that name before…as in Cassandra?"

"Yes…" I replied. "Why?"

"…Greg's friends were killed by an Octoling named Cass…" She told me. "That's the bitch who ruined Greg's life!"

"She…killed them?" I returned my gaze to that very Elite. "So…now you're a murderer?"

"Hold on…" Three came along. "I've met Cass once when she was just an Advanced rank. She had my hanging over the edge. I was at her mercy, but she hesitated to kill me. She didn't want to…"

"Regardless…" Oscar came up too. "We have an Octoling here who has the same name as the one who killed Scott and Liz. We need to tell Greg."

"That's not what we're here for." Three told him. "We're here for Octim."

"Octim?" Mia was confused by the name. "That sounds Octarian…"

"Because Tim's an Octoling who got squidnapped." I told her. "Did…you not know?"

The two Defenders stared at us, wide-eyed.

"So you've been wasting our time?!"Oscar quietly shouted at us.

"Why'd you come if you didn't want to save an Octoling?" I asked, confused.

"We didn't know." Mia replied. "Sylvia told us that…Sylvia…she knew about this…"

"Please help us save him." I practically begged. "He's lived his entire life on the surface."

"Greg says we can't trust Octolings." Oscar replied. "Frankly…I have no reason to doubt him."

"Why?!" I glared at him. "What do you have against Octolings?"

"…That Octoling killed my cousin Liz." Oscar told me. "That's enough for me to not trust them…or you."

My face reddened with frustration.

"I was beaten by Cass!" I shouted at him. "She abused me and my cousin! I was brainwashed for two years of my life that I'll never get back! I would never betray you guys for the Octarians! Especially not for that…bitch!"

Oscar seemed surprised by my response.

"…Well…" Oscar seemed to be thinking. "I…can't speak for you…but some of us can't forgive Octarians…"

"…I can see why you feel that way…" I really could. "But I'm not Cass. Many Octarians just want to live their lives. It's our oppressive leadership that's the problem."

"Well, I don't see what we're going to be able to do about that." He replied.

"You can all come down here and surrender!" Cass shouted at the vents. "You think we couldn't hear you?"

"Scatter!" Three shouted.

We scattered right before Ink started flying through the vent openings.

Great…I hope things are better on the other side…


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

 **Guyver's POV**

Alright, we've got a decent way to the castle, but now we're pinned and need to use these old-fashioned guard towers for defense.

I peered around the corner, only got nearly get my head taken off by an Octosniper shot.

Great…what now?

Gotta think…

Gotta think…

 **Tim's POV**

"Wow, it got loud outside…" Valerie noticed.

I walked towards the wall and put my ear against it.

"Hey, Julia?" I called out. "What's all that noise?"

"Oh, Splatoon's trying to storm the castle." Julia told me. "They've been halted though. Those Valley Central Elites are the real deal!"

"My friends are in the Splatoon!" I told her. "C-can you tell them to hold their fire?!"

"No can do." She shook her head. "Protocol dictates that we fire upon any Inklings that get close. They have two options: Leave or Die."

"…Please?!" I begged. "If my friends are here, then they must be here for me!"

"All the more reason to beat them back." She shrugged.

"W-well, let me go with them!" I requested. "If they're here for me, then letting me go with them will make them leave!"

"Tim…?" Val was surprised by my suggestion.

"I can't do that!" She crossed her arms. "Not only would I never hand over a Royal to the Inklings, but your grandfather would have my head if I did!"

"Let me out!" I shouted.

"Tim…" Val looked concerned now.

"You cannot order me!" Julia had her hands on her hips now. "You may be a royal, but so am I. I'm a Commander even. The only person who can order me is the king."

I quickly grabbed my goggles.

"…Hello?" I called into them. "Hello?"

There was no answer; just static.

"What's going on?!" I didn't understand.

"Splatoon's probably jamming communications to the other domes." Julia guessed. "Our only contacts are in this dome. I hear they have Ida on their side, so that's probably what's going on."

Carp!

…Wait…

"Who…did you say could give you orders?" I asked.

Val caught that and looked at me.

"The King." She said again.

"What if someone he chose to be King was here?" I asked.

"Huh?" She tilted her head.

I swallowed.

I hope this doesn't backfire…

I pulled my left sleeve up.

"Commander Julia." I looked her in the eye and held my arm out, revealing my green X. "As future king of the Octarians, I order you to call off your troops and let me leave!"

Her eyes widened as she saw my mark.

"Y…you're the heir…?" She said in an empty voice. "He…made you…the heir…?"

Her expression then turned sour.

"After all I've done for him, he makes YOU the heir?!" She yelled.

"Yes!" I replied. "He taught me how to be a DJ, taught me about Octarian stuff, and…he said this was my birthright, as Octavio Takosawa the Third."

Her sour expression turned to a look of utter shock. I noticed Valerie also had a surprised look on her face.

Oh right…I hadn't told her my real name yet…

"A…as in the son of the murdered prince?" Valerie asked.

"Yeah…" I nodded my head. "My mom survived and I grew up in Cirrina countryside. It wasn't until the other day that I found out I was a prince."

"…I never had a chance…" Julia said as she collapsed to her knees. "All my hard work…all that kissing up…for nothing…"

She was then curled in a fetal position on the ground.

"Uh…Julia?" I was concerned now. "Are you okay?"

"No…" She answered, not even looking at me. "Don't mind me; I'm just…lamenting my crushed dreams…"

"It's okay, Miss Julia…" Val knelt down and put a hand on Julia's shoulder. "I can see you're depressed, but I'll help you through it…"

"…Octo, I don't know what I did to deserve her…" Julia said to herself. "But thank you…"

"Miss…Julia?" Val tilted her head.

Julia stood up.

"I'm going to look at what I'm supposed to do in this scenario…" She said, blankly. "I'll be back…"

She then left the room.

"Wow…" Val was still recovering from that news. "So-um…Octavio, huh?"

"Y-you can still call me Tim…" I told her. "I'm…not used to that name yet…"

"Okay, Tim." She nodded her head. "…So what now?"

"Honestly?" I turned my head to the noise outside. "I'm wondering that too…"

 **Cuttlefish Cabin…**

"Any ideas for how to get them in?" Marie asked Marina.

"I'm trying…" Marina was looking through the schematics. "Ah! There's actually an elevator that goes down into an abandoned mining shaft. It's most likely an escape route in case an enemy force manages to breach the castle."

"And we didn't know about this earlier because…?" Marie wanted an answer.

"Because some of these schematics are buried under layers of code and spam." Marina answered. "It's basically to slow down progress in the event that someone hacks into the Octarian mainframe."

"Well, I guess I'll make my way down there." Marie put on her mask and picked up her Charger.

"Ooh!" Denise got excited. "And I get to go with you?"

"You skilled?" Agent 2 asked.

"Ohoho, yeah!" Denise assured her.

"Wait, didn't you lose your first match in the Tournament?" Marina remembered.

"Uuuuuuhhh…" Denise felt awkward now.

"Well, you're clearly a bit green, but you'll do." Agent 2 shrugged. "Unless someone more skilled shows up.

As if in response, figures came from the manhole to Inkopolis.

"Hello there…" The masked figure greeted the three. "Sssssorry to drop in unexpected…"

"Aaaaaaaahhh!" Denise was freaking out.

"Wait…" Marina recognized them. "Aren't you…?"

"Toxic Misssssst…" He introduced his team. "I…am One…"

The others then stepped forward.

"Ssssix…" He listed. Ssssseven…Nine…"

"Psst…" An Urchin with a bandanna over his face leaned forward. "What's my cool name?"

"Uh-um…" One was thinking. "…Point!"

"Yes!" The Urchin now named point readily accepted the code name.

"What are you creeps doing here?" Agent 2 asked.

"We have been ssssummoned by a mother'ssss love for her child…" One Answered.

"Amphia…" The imprisoned Octavio knew.

"I fell asleep during the Tournament." Agent 2 admitted. "They skilled?"

"They won the Tournament." Marina informed her.

"Wait…" Denise was realizing what this meant. "Aaaaaw! Darn it…"

"Hey, just stay with Marina." Agent 2 told her.

Denise looked at the Octoling celebrity.

"Okay…" She agreed. "Heh…Honestly, this is probably better anyway!"

"Uuuuuuh…" Agent 2 wasn't sure whether or not to feel insulted by that. "Whatever…You guys are creepy, but if you're here to help, then come on!"

"Right." One nodded. "Point, ssstay with thesse two. In cassse sssomething happensss."

"Yes sir!" Point saluted.

 **Arnold's POV**

What is all that noise?

What's going on?

Oh Cod…is it the Splatoon?!

Agh! And I'm sitting here, doing nothing!

Wait…Cass said she'd be leaving the door open just in case…

…

Well, now's as good a time as any…

Don't worry, Cass…

I'll be back…


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

 **Beth's POV**

Great…Now we're stuck in the vents…

These Valley Central Elites are no joke…heh…best fight I've had since the DJ himself. But now's not the time for fun…I need to figure something out.

Central Elites are strong, but by the book, so we need to think outside the box…

Cass is capable of thinking outside the box, but isn't nearly as strong…

I looked to my side where Oscar was.

"Hey Oscar." I got his attention. "Can you manage to lure Cass away from the other Elites?"

"…I think I can do that…" He nodded his head. "Can you clear a path?"

"Absolutely!" I said, readying my Hero Shot. "Everyone, throw your bombs!"

The rest of us threw whatever bombs we had into the hallway from different vent openings. As soon as the first one exploded, Oscar jumped out and used the Ink blasts as cover as he hid in the puddles.

"…Did they really think that would work?" Cass wondered.

I could see another Elite shrug at her response before they continued to shoot at the vents. I then had an idea. I grabbed a special can and threw it down, landing in Oscar's ink puddle.

"…They do know you're supposed to open the special cans, right?" One Elite asked.

"...Quick!" Cass realized what we were doing. "Get that-"

Before she could finish, Oscar jumped out and opened the special can, revealing a Baller that he immediately charged and burst, splatting several Elites and knocking others back. He then sprinted past Cass and the others, who were still recovering.

"Kiss my ass, Cass!" Oscar shouted as he gave her a particularly rude gesture.

"Oh you little…" Cass got up. "Get back here you little shit!"

It worked. Cass started to chase Oscar. About two Elites followed her, but most stayed behind. Probably thinking one Inkling couldn't do much. Heh…you'd think they'd learn…

 **Tim's POV**

After a few minutes, Julia came back in.

"Okay, ready to go to your friends, Tim?" She asked.

"Wait, that worked?!" I got wide-eyed.

"Yup!" She nodded her head. "Just change back into your Inkling clothes and follow me!"

"Yes!" I got excited.

I took off my Gi, revealing the clothes I already had on underneath it. Just need my jacket now!

"Hurray!" Valerie got excited, but then stopped. "Wait…that means I'll be by myself again…"

Oh right…wait…

"Julia, can I take Valerie to see the city?" I asked.

"No." She coldly stated before returning to a happier expression. "I need her here. Maybe another time, perhaps…"

"Oh…" That's disappointing…

"Well, I guess this is goodbye, Tim…" Val sighed.

Um…

I threw my arms around Val and pulled her close.

"Thanks for everything, Val." I said.

"Heh…welcome!" She said as she returned the hug.

"…Okay!" Julia separated us. "That's enough hugging! I don't want to make the goodbye too painful…"

"Right…" Val rubbed the back of her head. "Well, hopefully I'll see you again, Tim!"

"Likewise!" I hoped so too.

I then followed Julia out of the room. She and her guards led me down the hallway and tilted a painting that revealed an elevator.

"Wait, I thought we were going to the Splatoon." I said.

"Well, communications are down, so I can't contact my troops." She replied. "We can't order a ceasefire, so we'll have to make do with this escape elevator to get you around the fighting."

Makes sense…

We stepped in the elevator.

"…So…you think Val will be fine?" I asked.

"Yes." She answered. Why?"

"I mean, the state of the domes and all…" I shrugged.

"It's fine." She stated.

…Something's off…

She's not making eye-contact like she usually does…

She's twiddling her fingers…

And she really doesn't want to talk…

The door then opened. We walked forward.

…Wait…

"Julia?" I stopped.

"Yes?" She seemed impatient.

"You said our communications to other domes were jammed…" I remembered. "But doesn't that mean you could still contact your troops in this dome?"

She paused.

"…You…aren't taking me to my friends, are you?" I started backing away, only to be stopped by one of her glasses-wearing guards. I then felt something hit the back of my head.

Everything then went dark…

…

 **Octo Valley Central Dome…B-Team**

"Any ideas on how to get through?" Sarah was hoping for an answer.

"Right flank's weak!" Sylvia shouted out. "They aren't firing!"

"Why not?" Greg wondered.

"I…think I know…" Guyver told them. "They're snickering at that."

Guyver pointed towards the scene of three Octoling Elites kicking an Inkling that was on the ground.

"Oscar!" Greg rushed in that direction.

"Covering fire, I guess!" Guyver started shooting at the enemy Octarians to grab their attention.

 **Cass's POV**

"And what do you say?" I asked the runt.

"S-sorry…" He replied.

"Aaaand…?" I was waiting for the next part.

"I-I should be kissing your ass…" He continued.

"Because…?" Go on.

"It is very nice and is one of your many assets." He finished. "You're a very beautiful Octarian."

"Good." I nodded my head. "Alright, take him in."

"You know," One of the Elites said as she lifted him up. "At first I thought you were just being a sadist, but kicking this Inkling was fun."

"See?" I shrugged. "What'd I-"

 ***Splat!***

The other Elite got splatted.

"Let him go!" Some Inkling aimed his Dualies at us.

"Woah, we got another one…" I grinned.

"Greg…" The captive said. "You're here…"

Wait…

"What?" I looked at the Inkling. "What was his name…?"

"Greg!" He shouted. "It's her! I've found her! It's Cass!"

The green Inkling paused, then looked at me.

"…Wait…" I recognize him now. "…Greg…?"

"…You…" Greg recognized me too. "After all these years…"

Oh Cod…

I took a step back.

He took a step forward.

"Take another step and he's splatted!" The other Elite threatened, aiming her weapon at the younger squid.

I then saw a smirk on the captive's face as he pulled out a can.

I turned and ran.

"Cass!" Greg sprinted towards me as the other squid jumped in the air and used a Splashdown.

Gotta run…

Gotta run…

Hallway! Yes!

A shot of ink then hit my leg.

Running slightly slower…

"Soldiers!" I shouted. "Inklings coming from this way!"

"And this way." Agent 3 smirked, aiming her weapon at me.

"Cass!" Greg was getting closer.

Carp!

I sprinted towards the Agent. Luckily, she seemed to be confused by that action since she didn't fire at me.

"Get back here, you murderer!" Greg yelled.

Another ink shot hit my leg. I fell over. I looked up to see Greg walking slowly towards me.

"Finally…" He got closer. "I've finally found you…now to do to you what you did to Scott and Liz…"

W-what?!

Scott?!

I…I…

No…

* * *

 **Author's Note: I've been thinking and I think it's about time I've had a decent update schedule I'm thinking that, starting next week, I'll start posting on Mondays and Fridays. It's subject to change, but at the moment, those are the deadlines I will be sticking with. It won't be a specific story, it could be any of the ones I'm currently working on.**

 **The reason I'm starting this schedule next week is because I will be posting a Valentine's Day-related One-shot on Thursday, February 14th.**

 **If you're out of the loop on which stories I'm currently working on, it includes "Life in Inkopolis: Heir to the Throne," "The Hostage," and "A Different Path: Interloper's Cut."**


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

 **Beth's POV**

"Hold on…" I stopped Greg. "You sure Cass killed your friends?"

"It was her!" Greg shouted.

"I've met Cass though." I told him. "She actually had the opportunity to make me fall to my death and she couldn't do it."

"I don't know what Octoling you met then…" Greg said.

"It was me!" Cass shouted. "I…couldn't do it…"

"But you could kill Scott and Liz…" Greg hissed.

"I didn't mean to!" Cass shouted. "I-it just…"

I swear I just heard something...

"Just what?" Greg raised an eyebrow. "Just sort of happened?!"

"It was an accident!" Cass was freaking out. "I didn't mean to!"

I think it's getting louder. I think I'm the only one paying attention to it though...

"Didn't mean to?" Greg glared at her. "You used us! You murdered them! You ruined my life!"

"I…I…" Cass looked like she was on the verge of crying.

Is that yelling...?

"You've said enough, Cass…" Greg said as he aimed his Dualie. "Finally…I can end this…"

"MAMAAAAAA!" A voice in the vents yelled.

Before Greg could do anything, a foot-tall Octotrooper dropped from one of the vents onto his face and he started struggling to get it off.

Huh?

"W-what?" Cass was obviously confused.

"Run, Mama!" The Tentacle shouted. "I'll hold him off!"

What…?

"You…" Cass immediately got up and bolted. "You survive this and I promise I'll give you a name!"

After a short bit of struggling, Greg threw the small Octarian off of him, and then frantically looked around as the tentacle scurried off to safety.

"Where'd she go?!" He wanted an answer.

I just shrugged.

"Why'd you let her go?!" He was shocked that I would.

"Cass isn't much of a threat in a fight." I told him. "At worst, she's an annoyance who can catch you off guard if you aren't careful."

"She's a murderer!" Greg repeated himself.

"I think there's more to it than that." I remarked. "If she did kill your friends years ago, but hesitated to kill me, you think there's a connection?"

"Who cares?!" Greg glared at me. "She needs to pay!"

"Well, then we'll sort that out at a later date." I assured him. "For now though, we're here for someone else."

Greg looked confused for a second.

"Three, we just finished off the rest of those Elites." Eight informed me as she just arrived. "The others will be here soon in-time to storm the castle!"

Greg then shook his head, as if regaining his senses.

"…Right…" He agreed. "Let's just get this over with…"

 **Tim's POV**

"Gah!" I woke up. "Huh?"

I realized I was in a box.

"Hello?" I called out. "Hellooooo?!"

I then hear a static sound from my goggles. I put them on.

"Hello?" Julia's voice came through. "Are you awake?"

"Yes!" I replied. "Where am I?!"

"I'd say…oooh…six feet under?" What? "Depending on how fast they got the hole dug."

"You buried me?!" I shouted.

"Careful, they just finished covering you up a few minutes ago; I suggest not wasting precious air." She warned.

"…Why?" I asked.

"You think that I worked so hard, for so long, and sucked up to that old man, only for it to be taken away because of his senile sense of nepotism?!" She hissed. "No…I'm done sucking up. I'll figure out some cover story for your disappearance, and then find a way to take what's rightfully mine!"

"But won't Valerie wonder what happened to me?" I wanted an answer.

"…She'll believe in that 'given to the Splatoon' story." She assured me in a blank voice. "Well, I have Inklings and traitorous Octolings to deal with. Enjoy suffocating."

"Wait, no!" I shouted. "Julia!"

The message just went to static.

No…NOOOO!

Wait…calm down…calm down…

Need to think…

Need to think…

Need to bust out of here…

Let's see…

This box is definitely wood…and hastily put together…

If I manage to break it, I could dig my way out…

But I can't hit hard enough to…wait…

I took off my goggles.

…These could be hard enough…

I hope these don't get ruined because of this…

…Here goes nothing…

Ooooh…

Sorry, Dad…

 ***Thwak!***

...

 **Octo Valley Central Dome Castle…**

Commander Julia was watching the battle from her office window, watching how it progressed.

"A standstill…a giant standstill…" Julia groaned. "Why can't my troops just push them back?"

She then noticed a light on her desk indicating that the elevator was being used and grinned. She walked out into the Hallway as the door was opening.

"Did you re-establish communications?" Julia asked.

"No…" Answered a green-clad Agent pointing a Charger at her. "We're just taking the castle."

The Agent walked out of the Elevator along with some Inklings in gas masks.

"A…Agent 2?!" Julia's eyes widened. "How'd you know about the-Ida…it was Ida, wasn't it?"

"Maybe…" Agent 2 shrugged. "Now, you're going to tell us where to find Tim."

"The Prince?" Julia tilted her head. "But if you came from the elevator…you already passed him…I was sending him to Octo Valley…"

"What?" One tilted his head. "Where in Octo Valley?"

"Where do you think?" Julia smirked. "Sorry to tell you, but you're wasting your time here…"

"Then call off your troops." Agent 2 ordered her. "They can still receive your orders in this dome, can't they?"

"You're right…" Julia crossed her arms and nodded. "But I have zero reason to comply with your orders. You're wasting your time here…"

"Call him back!" One ordered.

"Can't." Julia replied. "Splatoon's jamming my communications to the other domes."

"How about we give you communications back and you bring the boy back?" Agent 2 suggested. "Then we can at least stop the fighting?"

"A splendid idea!" Julia agreed.

She then brought them to her office and sat in her chair, waiting for their end of the deal.

"Okay…okay!" Agent 2 nodded. "Alright, you have communications. Now for your end of the deal."

"Right…" She opened a box on her desk and pressed a button. "Have fun with Octarian security closing in on you."

"What?" Six tilted her head.

Julia then pressed a button on her chair and she dropped into a trap door before the others could shoot

"Clam it!" Agent 2 shouted. "Agents? We're going to have company."


	14. Chapter 14

**Author's Note: New Follower! Thanks Wolf Fang 497 for your interest in the story and I hope you, my other followers, and everyone else who reads these continues to enjoy my works!**

Chapter 14

 **Another POV**

These Octosnipers were keeping us pinned…and the Elite Octolings were no joke either…I was lucky enough to get Oscar behind cover.

But suddenly, they started getting splatted.

There was someone in the castle splatting them from behind. Their attention was split and we took that advantage. What helped was that Agent 3 and Greg advancing. I could also see Agent 8 and Mia starting to enter the dome as well.

I readied my Bamboozler and charged forward, splatting as many enemy Octos as I could. Eventually, the last of them either got splatted or surrendered, though I noticed the surrendering ones didn't look like combatants…

"Alright, where's Tim?" I asked the captives.

"They sent him to Octo Valley." M-Agent 2 said, having finished up some .

"So we have to go into another settlement?" Greg groaned. "What's so special about this Inkling?"

"Greg…Tim's not an Inkling." Oscar revealed to him. "Turns out Sylvia wasted our time…"

Greg then looked at me.

"Is this true?" He asked.

"…Yes…" I admitted. "B-but Tim never lived in these settlements. He grew up in Cirrina."

"And what's so special about this Octoling?" Greg was curious.

"…He's…related to some important people…" I admitted.

"And where would they take him?" He wondered.

"Octo Valley Central Dome." Agent 2 answered. "It's highly defended."

"By Elites of that strength?" Greg guessed.

"Yes." Agent 2 replied.

Greg looked at all of us and sighed.

"Defenders, let's head home." He said.

"W-wait, what about Tim?!" I asked him.

"Two things." Greg turned to me. "One: He's an Octarian and in my experiences, it's best they stay underground."

I could see all the Agents either groaning or rolling their eyes at that comment.

"And two…" Greg continued, noticing their responses. "Assuming that the Valley Central Dome is extremely important, I can only assume it's filled to the brim with Elites just like the ones we just fought. We don't have the squidpower to take on something like that, especially with the lack of Defenders here. Sorry Sylvia, I really am, but going in there to get your 'friend' would be more trouble than it's worth."

"…He's not exactly wrong about that part…" Agent 2 admitted. "Fine, Greg. The Splatoon will find a way to continue on. First things first though, you'll have to fight your way out. Commander Julia called security before she went to Cod knows where."

"Of course she did…" Greg figured. "Come on guys…you coming, Sylvia?"

"I…think I want to stay…" I told him. "Tim's my friend. I know you think he's lying to me, but I still want to help him…"

"…Alright." He turned to leave. "The rest of us have a fight on our hands…"

I watched him and the others leave the dome as fast as they could.

"…You…okay, Sylvia?" Sarah asked.

"I'm…I'll be fine…" I told her. "I just…I'm thinking about…stuff now, I guess…I don't know…"

"Hey, we'll find Tim and it'll be fine." She assured me.

"Y-yeah!" I nodded my head. "Now let's move out!"

"You aren't in charge here." Agent 2 said.

"Er…right…" I shyly saluted. "Um…lead the way, Agent 2!"

"That's better." Agent 2 nodded. "See, why can't you be more like her, Agent 4?"

"Ugh…" Sarah rolled her eyes.

 **Elsewhere…Yet Another POV**

I knocked on the door.

"Yes?" Julia wondered who it was.

"It's…me…Valerie…" I told her. "Um…you sent Tim to the Splatoon, right?"

"Would I lie to you?" She asked.

"Well, it's just that…" How do I put this? "I overheard those Splatoon cephalopods saying he was sent to Octo Valley…"

"I had him sent there instead." She told me. "I mean, I couldn't let a Royal fall into Inklings' tentacles. Like I said, Lord Octavio would have my head if I did."

So she did lie to me…

"But you didn't have a Royal Escort set up yet…" I pointed out. "We also didn't have communications to the other domes. How'd you get him there?"

"I have him in a secure location." She was lying.

"Then can I see him?" I wondered.

"Absolutely not!" She shouted as she opened the door. "What if you're followed?"

"By who?" I tilted my head. "None of them even know me. Why would they think I know where he is?"

"You'll stand out in your kimono." She replied.

"I can just wear my uniform." I said, crossing my arms. "I'll look like any other staff member."

"What if they-"

"Julia" I interrupted her. "What did you do?"

"Huh…?" She was caught off-guard by what I said.

"I said…" I looked her right in the eye. "WHAT. DID. YOU. DO?"

"I didn't do anything!" She was still lying.

"If you killed him, I swear to Octo, I'll report this!" I glared at her.

"No, you won't!" She narrowed her eyes.

"Show me where he is." I told her, eyes glaring.

"Valerie, I…I…" She was shaking.

My stare was working.

 **Ten Minutes Later…**

"I…Cannot…BELIEVE YOU!" I shouted as we were walking through the mine shaft, holding shovels. "You always taught me to be polite and hospitable and you did this?! He better still be alive down there!"

"I estimated he had at least an hour of air, so he should be fine…" She assured me, rolling her eyes. "You're lucky I'm not the same person I was before I met you because otherwise I would've buried you too."

"You were really that ruthless?" I was unconvinced.

"I pulled my parasite of a brother off of life-support myself!" She hissed. "I was a cold-hearted bitch and I accomplished a lot because of it!"

"And that'll get you arrested for treason unless you help me dig him up!" I hissed. "Now show me the place!"

"I am!" She rolled her eyes. "But only because I hate when we're at each other's throats…"

We kept walking until she stopped and rushed over to the ground.

"What's going on?" I was confused.

"He's…gone…" What?

"He died?!" I shouted.

"No, I mean he dug his way out!" She clarified. "I have no idea where he is now!"

"What?!" I ran over. Sure enough, there was a hole in the ground. "TIIIIIIIIM!"

 **Elsewhere…Tim's POV**

Need to find the way out…

Need to get back home…

I have no idea where I'm going!

I'd ask one of those troopers, but from what I know, there's a no-surface-going policy here…and those weird sunglasses spell trouble…

Just need to find…an elevator or something…

I need… "Oof!"

I fell down after hitting something.

"Sorry…" A calm voice apologized.

I looked up to see another guy Octoling. I noticed he wasn't wearing those creepy shades.

"I-it's fine…" I assured him. "I just-"

"Wait…" He looked closer at me. "I know you!"

"You…do?" I was confused.

"Yes!" He nodded his head. "I…wait…Dr. Cirra can explain it better!"

He then grabbed my arm and pulled me to the medical wing.

Wait…what?

Who is this guy?

How do I know him?

I'm so confused…


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

 **Octo Canyon Corridors…**

The Defenders were making their way to the exit to the surface when they were attacked by Octarian reinforcements.

"Is there any end to them?!" Mia wondered.

"I guess we'll find out…" Oscar replied.

"Another wave coming!" Greg pointed out.

Suddenly, the Octarians started bursting into Ink. Someone was attacking them from the other side.

"We have backup!" Greg shouted. "Push forward!"

The Defenders quickly started pushing forward, splatting many Octarians as they were making their way out. Suddenly, Octoling reinforcements came rushing in, only to be splatted by a bomb barrage. Then, a purple Inkling with a stolen Octoshot came their way.

"Huh?" He looked confused as he got to them. "Greg? Oscar? Mia? Why're you here?"

"Arnold?" Mia was surprised and a bit annoyed to see him. "What're you-"

"Get down!" Arnold shouted as he pushed Mia down and Splatted an Octoling behind her.

"Geez…" Mia looked at him. "When did a bastard like you get so good at fighting Octarians?"

Arnold looked at her for a second.

"…What did you think I was doing those hours I'd be gone?" He replied.

"…What…?" Mia's eyes widened.

"Hey, it's going to have to wait!" Oscar told them. "We've got company!"

Arnold fired at as many Octarians as he could while helping the others escape, quickly running after them as soon as they were in the clear.

 **Tentakeel Outpost…**

The Inklings exited the kettle onto the surface.

"Hold on, you're in the Splatoon too?" Greg asked as they arrived at the cabin.

Arnold then punched Greg square in the face, causing him to fall over. Everyone at the outpost looked in shock and surprise.

"Agh!" Greg covered his face. "What was that for?!"

"You know exactly what that was for!" Arnold hissed.

"Seriously?!" Greg couldn't believe it. "How many times do you want me to say I'm sorry?!"

"Arnold…what's going on?" Marina asked.

"Don't wanna talk about it…" Arnold shrugged as he sat next to her. "Okay, I don't know what you guys are doing here, but you can leave now."

"Hold on, you were in the Splatoon this whole time?!" Mia asked as she walked over. "Why didn't you tell me?!"

"I was about to…" Arnold then turned his head. "But I didn't feel very talkative after..."

He glared at Greg again.

"She invited me over when I was half drunk and didn't know!" Greg defended himself. "Had I had my better judgement, I would have talked before doing anything!"

"Like you're ever in your better judgement…" Arnold groaned. "Look, just get out of here…so Marina, what's the situation?"

"The Splatoon's trying to get a squidnapped Octoling back." She informed me. It was an operation led by the Splatoon. The Defenders and Team Toxic Mist came uninvited afterwards."

"Okay, I'll just head back and help them then." Arnold said, readying his weapon.

"Hold on, I'm confused…" Mia stepped forward.

"There's nothing to be confused about." Arnold replied. "I worked for the Splatoon, couldn't tell you, and you jumped to conclusions…I'm going back now. Just do whatever you do now…"

Arnold then rushed over to the kettle and dove back in, leaving Mia speechless.

"Uh…What was that all about?" 'Point' asked Oscar.

"It's a…long story…" Oscar scratched the back of his head.

 **Octo Canyon…Cass's POV**

Okay…okay…I think I lost him…I…I need to lie down…

I opened the door.

"A-Arnold, I…" I looked around. "W…where'd you…where'd you go?!"

He wouldn't just leave me like that, right?

No…

He wanted to understand…me…

Wait...

Those Splatoon punks!

They must've…

Grrrr!

"You're in for a world of hurt when I get my hands on you, Squidbrats!" I ran off to find them.

 **Mei's POV**

"Alright, we need to think of a plan…" Agent 2 concluded. "Do you think he's actually at the Valley yet or is Julia lying to us?"

"Hm…" I was wondering. "Maybe-"

"Attention, attention." Julia's voice went through the speakers before I could respond. "To all troops, the Royal has escaped the central dome and is running around the settlement. He doesn't want to go to the Valley and he's being a bit of a brat about it, so pay no mind to anything he says when you catch him, okay?"

"Guess she was lying." I shrugged. "And if she just used the announcements…does that mean she's in her castle?"

We all looked at the building and quickly ran inside.

Nearing the office, we could hear chatting on the other side. We quickly opened the door to find Julia at her desk.

"Ah!" Julia yelped and pressed a button. "Quickly, down here!"

I saw her push someone down a trap door. I quickly Superjumped into her before she could escape and pinned her to the wall.

"You're not going anywhere!" I shouted.

"I suppose there's no use trying to fight you…" Julia admitted defeat.

"Alright, where's Tim?" Agent 2 asked her.

"Did you not hear the announcement?" Julia tilted her head. "I have no idea."

"You could be lying." I pointed out. "You lied to us earlier."

"Right…" She admitted.

She then looked at the trap door.

"…Say…how about I offer you Splatoon agents a deal?" She said. "One that could work out for both of us…"

I looked to the others. Both Agents and Toxic Mist seemed curious about her offer.

"What kind of deal?" I asked, still holding her arms.

"Octavio will never suit for peace…and Sieg is planning an attack…" Julia mentioned. "Perhaps I can be of assistance?"

"And how would you do that?" Agent 2 wondered.

"You have Lord Octavio in your captivity, right?" Julia asked. "Well, he's my first cousin twice removed."

"Sssso?" One tilted his head.

"He marked his Grandson to be heir…but it isn't a line of sole successorship." She explained. "I too have a claim to the throne as we are related."

"Aaand…?" Agent 2 was catching on. "He was marked. He can't be unmarked, right?"

"No." Julia admitted. "But if you…say…took little Timmy out of the picture…and convinced Octavio to name me the heir…I could suit for peace…"

"WE AREN'T KILLING TIM!" One shouted.

The others and I looked at him, surprised. Does he have a connection with Tim?

"I agree!" Sylvia shouted.

"Yeah!" Sarah nodded. "I don't see why Tim can't do the same anyway."

"Boy's too young to rule." Julia replied. "However, I'm old enough to take the throne. So get rid of the boy, get me heirship, then take Octavio out of the picture, and I'll give you the peace you oh so desperately need."

"What makes you think you deserve to rule?" I narrowed my eyes.

"I'll call off Sieg and agree to any terms." She told us. "I'll keep in constant contact in case you need anything. Give me what's rightfully mine and I'll give you everything you want."

"You're asking us to kill them?!" Sarah shouted.

"To potentially save thousands of lives." Julia grinned. "I don't know exactly what planning, but it's big. I mean, what's two lives compared to thousands?"

"We aren't killers!" Agent 2 shouted.

"Unless you've thought of a better way to resolve things, I suggest considering my offer." Julia smugly stated. "Come on, do you really think Octavio will ever want to resolve things peacefully? How many Octarians do you think will die due to the deteriorating domes in the years it'll take for his grandson to be crowned?"

We all just stared at her.

"Come on…" Julia rolled her eyes. "It's a small sacrifice, right? Just say yes."


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

 **Tim's POV**

"Dr. Cirra!" The strange Octoling called out as we entered the Doctor's office.

"I told you, Patient-01, just call me Gracie." An Octoling girl in a labcoat said as she turned in her chair. "Where'd you go now? And where's my assistant?"

"He said he 'sensed' his 'mama' might be in danger and I went after, but I lost track of him." He answered her. "On the way back…I found him…"

He stepped to the side to reveal me.

"Who…" Hey eyes widened and she immediately scrambled out of the chard and got on her hands and knees. "I-I'm most honored to be in your presence, valuable Prince!"

"Uh…thanks?" I replied, feeling incredibly awkward now. "Um…you can stop bowing now…It's weird…"

"Er-right…" She got back up. "So what brings you to my office?"

"He brought me here…" I pointed to the mysterious Octoling. "He said he knows me?"

"If he knew you, he could explain it better than I can…" She shrugged.

"Explain how you gave me new life!" He got giddy.

"I-I mean, it was Elise's Idea…" She admitted. "I made it possible, but she convinced me to help her go through with it."

"She gave me a new life!" The strange Octoling said, grinning. "I died…but live again with a new life filled with possibilities!"

"Wha…?" I was more confused.

"Don't you remember?" He tilted his head. "You were there! You sent me to my new life!"

…I…sent him…to the new life…?

Wait…

"What…happened, Doctor?" I hesitantly asked.

"A body was brought in the other week." Gracie explained. "It was a hybrid that with weak vitals. I managed to keep him alive enough to remove and stabilize his brain and most of his organs."

Wait…a hybrid…?

I looked at the Octoling guy.

"I won't get into the specifics, but we basically put his brain and organs in an Octoling who recently died a training accident." Gracie continued. "Surprisingly, it was a success and now he's here. I'm looking after him while I show my superiors the results of the experiment."

Oh Cod…

"It's you…" My eyes widened at the realization. "Get him away from me! He'll kill me!"

"What?" Gracie seemed surprised.

"I wouldn't!" The Stranger shook his head. "I thought you were like me…a monster who shouldn't exist…but you weren't like me at all! You didn't need saving!"

I backed away from him.

"I paid the price for my mistake…" He continued. "But now I'm like you! I'm…normal…I'm an Octoling now!"

"You're crazy!" I shouted. "You're just going to kill me!"

"I won't!" He replied. "You aren't an abomination like I was!"

"You tried to kill a Royal?!" Gracie shouted, shocked.

"He hid his eyes…" The stranger told her. "I-I thought he was like I was…but I was wrong…but that doesn't matter anymore…I'm normal now. A new life means a new start!"

"S-stay away from me!" I hid behind Gracie.

He sighed.

"And he still never listens…" He shook his head.

"You probably traumatized him in your past life!" Gracie told him. "It's alright, my prince. I can assure you he won't hurt you…"

I somehow doubt that…

"Attention, attention." Julia's voice went through the speakers. "To all troops, the Royal has escaped the central dome and is running around the settlement. He doesn't want to go to the Valley and he's being a bit of a brat about it, so pay no mind to anything he says when you catch him, okay?"

"…Uuuhhh…" Gracie looked at me.

"Don't take me there!" I begged. She tried to kill me! She buried me alive! She's crazy!"

She looked at me up and down.

"Well…you are covered in dirt, so I can't disprove that…" She sounded hesitant to do anything.

Wait…

"Can you take me to the Splatoon?" I asked. "My friends are in the Splatoon and I have to see them!"

"I can't just hand a royal over to our enemies…" She replied.

"Uh…" I pulled my sleeve up, revealing my mark. "As heir, I order you to take me to the Splatoon!"

"…Sorry…" She shrugged. "But unless you become king, I don't follow orders from you unless I'm assigned to work for you."

"Oh…" I looked down. "Well, that's disappointing…"

"She tried to kill you?" The stranger tilted his head. "Perhaps I can make up for the misjudgment of my past life by protecting your life?"

"No!" I hid behind Gracie again.

"Yeah, I'll have to agree with the prince." Gracie agreed with me. "I still have no idea what the effects of prolonged physical activity on your new body could be. We didn't expect the experiment to even work, much less for you to even still be functioning right now."

"I have a new life!" He repeated himself. "I should choose what I do with it, right?"

"I. Need. To. Make. Sure. You're. Stable!" Gracie was getting annoyed now.

"…Very well…" The stranger sighed.

An Octotrooper then walked in.

"Ah, you're back…" Gracie narrowed her eyes. "Find your 'mama'?"

"Yes." The Octotrooper answered. "I saved her and she said she'd give me a name."

"…Okay." Gracie decided not to hear the explanation. "Well, as long as you're back…what to do about the prince though?"

"Please don't turn me in to Julia…" I begged. "She's crazy…she said she wants the throne herself and tried to kill me over it."

She seemed to be thinking.

"How about I just forget I saw you?" She suggested. "I have enough to worry about at the moment, I don't need this…"

"Right." I nodded. "Thanks Gracie."

"Just a heads-up before you go," She added. "The other soldiers will probably be looking for you and they will most likely take you to her."

I took a second to think, and then nodded my head.

"Um…where's the way out?" I asked.

"Uh…the elevator to the upper levels is down the hallway to the right..." She answered. "But I'm having trouble remembering where the Kettles to the surface are since I hardly go to the upper levels."

Oh…that's…sad…

"May I at least escort him to the upper levels?" The stranger asked. "I won't get into any fights or extended activity, just walking around like a physical therapy. Besides, the prince shouldn't be without escort, right?"

Gracie narrowed her eyes.

"…Fine" She agreed. "But you aren't to harm the prince. C-1, follow them."

"Okay." The Octotrooper walked next to me.

"I wouldn't harm him…" The stranger shook his head. "I'm an Octoling…he is the Prince…so I shall serve him now…it's what an Octoling would do, right?"

…I…don't get this guy's logic…


	17. Chapter 17

**Author's Note: New Followers! Thanks GundamFan2015 and Ajohrendt for your interest in the story and I hope you, my other followers, and everyone else who reads these continues to enjoy my works!**

Chapter 17

 **Sarah's POV**

We split up to try and find Tim. M-Agent 2 went with One and Six. Guyver stayed to watch Julia with Agents 3 and 8, and I went with Sylvia and…Nine…this girl…she keeps staring at me and giggling evilly…

What is her deal…?

I guess it doesn't matter…

Though why is Toxic Mist helping us?

Do they know Tim?

He's gotten involved with a lot of weirdos, hasn't he…?

"Splat, Splat, Splat, Sarah giiiiirrrrl…" Nine creepily said.

Eesh…

"Heeheehee…" She giggled.

"Okay, do you have a problem with me?" I turned and asked.

"Hmm…" She put a hand to her masked chin. "No telling, Sarah girl."

"Really?" I was unconvinced. "Because it seems like you do."

"Maybe I'm the spirit of vengeance…" She leaned forward. "Here to punish the Sarah girl's past deeds?"

"I haven't done anything worth 'avenging'." I crossed my arms. "At least, not that I know of…"

"Ignorance will be your downfall." She remarked.

"Can we just find Tim?" I was getting annoyed now. "He's kinda the important thing here, not me."

"Yes, yes, I know." She shrugged. "Later then, later then."

We continued to look around, not finding any sign of Tim. How hard should it be to find him?

I then heard footsteps in the distance.

Tim?

No…just a random Octoling…wait…that's.

"Cass!" I ran after her.

"S-Sarah!" Sylvia shouted. "Wait up!"

Cass noticed me and took off, cutting several corners.

"Cass!" I shouted as she somehow seemed to get further

I'm pretty sure she knows something…

"Ca-" ***Thwak!*** I was cut off by a baseball bat.

"Where's Arnold, you runt?!" Cass shouted as she grabbed me and pinned me against the wall. "Tell me!"

"A-Arnold?" I was confused. "But you have him…"

"DON'T BULLSHARK ME!" She yelled before punching me in the face.. "Tell me now or else!"

"We don't have him!" I told her before getting hit in the stomach.

"…Then I'll just have to beat you into talking!" She told me before proceeding.

Darn it…where are the others? Did she lure me away from them?

 ***Thwak!*** She started hitting her with her bat.

"Tell me!" I shouted. "Where…IS HE?!"

"Why do you care about him?!" I asked before getting hit again.

"Didn't your mom teach you not to answer a question with a question?" What…?

What did the say…?

What did that…bitch…say?!

I looked at her and grit my beak.

"WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT MY MOM?!" I shouted.

She seemed to have been caught off-guard by that.

"What do you know about moms?!" I glared at her. "You never even had one! What could you know?!"

"…I…" Her shocked expression then returned to an angry one. "I said, answer my question!"

She then continued to his me with her bat. I tried getting to my Splattershot, but she kept stomping on my hand.

"Last chance…" She growled. "WHERE IS HE?!"

"CASS!" A familiar voice yelled.

We both turned to find Arnold, looking furious.

"Arnold!" Cass looked happy to see him, but then froze as he stormed over.

"So this is how you change?" He glared at her.

"Uuuh…" She looked at me, then back at him. "I-I can explain…"

"Don't wanna hear it…" Arnold helped me up. "I'm leaving."

"W-wait!" Cass ran in front of us. W-what about-"

"Cass, I said IF you change…" He hissed. "Clearly you aren't interested…"

"B-but…" She was shaking.

"Bye, Cass." Arnold said as we walked past her…

"I-I'm sorry!" She shouted.

"…Yeah…me too…" He replied before continuing to walk.

I looked behind us to see Cass looking completely shocked and clenching her stomach. The way she was moving looked like she was about to cry, but her expression turned into a scowl.

"…Well, fine then! Leave!" She yelled. "I hope you trip over the side of the Canyon AND DROWN!"

We then turned the corner, leaving Cass alone…

"…Were…you two…?" I looked at Arnold.

"…I wanted to give her a chance…" He sighed. "But I guess some people never change…"

Huh…

I decided not to ask him any more about it.

"Sarah!" I saw Sylvia in the distance with Nine not too far behind. "There you are! What happened?!"

"Who this?" Nine looked at Arnold.

"Splatoon member." He answered. "I'm here to help. What's going on?"

"We're looking for Tim!" Sylvia told him.

"No idea who that is." Arnold shook his head.

"He's…ooowhhh…our friend." I told him, still hurting a lot.

"Hm…okay…Can one of you take her to the surface?" Arnold asked. "I have more experience fighting Octarians, so it'd be best if I went down."

"Just give me to Nine…" I rolled my eyes. "Sylvia actually wants to find Tim."

"And I don't?" Nine tilted her head.

"You seem to be treating it more like an afterthought." I said as Arnold put my arm over her shoulder.

"Okay, I'll take you up." Nine relented.

She proceeded to take me over to the nearest elevator, not looking very happy to be carrying me.

"…You ever going to take off that dumb gas mask?" I asked.

"No." She answered. "…Just try not to run off, girlie."

"Hey, I'm not new at this." I told her. "I've fought Octos plenty of times. Yeah, I fell for Cass's trick, but that's just a minor setback. I'm a fast healer. I'll be back in action in no-time! After all, I can't be the best battler if I'm sitting around in the hospital, right?"

"…Riiiight…" She replied.

Did she just roll her eyes? She better not have…

We got into the nearest elevator and pressed the call button.

"…You're being pretty quiet…" I noticed. "…What? Speechless that a future celebrity is in your arms? Sorry, but I don't swing that way."

"Can that ego, Ligo." Nine spat. "You already forget you lost to my team first try?"

"We'll get ya next year." I assured her. "Wait…how do you know my name?"

"Remember from the tournament." She explained. "You don't wear a disguise."

"Yeah, but…" Something was off. "The way you said my name…sounded like you were familiar with it…"

She didn't say anything.

"Uh-" I was cut off by the elevator opening.

"Wa-Sarah?" A very familiar Octoling in the elevator recognized me. "Sarah!"

"Tim!"

* * *

 **Author's Note: Due to other things in my life, I'm going to change my upload dates from Mondays and Fridays to just Fridays. Sorry about this, but progress has slowed down a bit and I don't want to make you guys and gals waiting too long. Hopefully things'll get better and I'll be able to upload more often again, but until then, Friday will be upload day.**


	18. Chapter 18

**Author's Note: New Follower! Thank you oddest zombie for your interest in the story and I hope you, my other followers, and everyone else who reads these continues to enjoy my works!**

Chapter 18

 **Central Dome…Another POV**

Hmmm…

I looked around at the squidiots before me.

This Agent 8, or Mei, appears to be quite skilled, likely from being trained as a soldier and some muscle memory from hypnoshade programming, but could likely be tricked…

This cousin of hers named Guyver though seems to be the smarter of the two, but not as combat skilled…and seems more attached to the prince than the other two if the looks he's giving me are a sign of anything…

Agent 3 however, is the biggest threat…she's beaten Octavio before…and is clearly the most skilled…

…I need to make contact somehow, but these Agents are watching me like a hawk…

"I need to use the restroom." I told them.

They looked at each other before Agent 3 walked over and motioned me to get up. I got up and was walked down the hallway. The Agents kept their weapons aimed at me until I we reached the restroom. I walked in and sat down…wait…

"Are you going to allow me some privacy?" I asked, annoyed.

"We have a feeling you'll try something." Mei told me, keeping her eye and weapon focused on me while the other two focused on the hallway.

"…Fine…" I shrugged.

I started to take my kimono off. Luckily, my fatigues were under it. I then sat down right before quickly jumping up and throwing the kimono in her face. I shoved my way past the other two, who immediately started chasing me. I made my way to the nearest room and locked the door behind me. I heard banging against the door, but knew they weren't strong enough to break in.

Alright…this…is still not a good situation…I am trapped in this room now…luckily, I have my communicator. I doubt those losers have cut off communication to the central dome again just yet

"H-hello?" I called into the communicator. "Anyone? This is Commander Julia Octavian Traeger! I am in need of assistance!"

"…Commander Julia?" A familiar voice on the other side responded. "This is Commander Sieg, what is the status of your situation?"

Sieg…YES!

"The Splatoon Agents have infiltrated my Inner Dome!" I informed him. "I am in desperate need on your assistance!"

"I heard you had a new Royal in your hands." He heard the broadcast about it. "Is he alive?"

"I don't know." I replied. "He ran off somewhere during the commotion. I currently have no guards and am currently locked in a room with the Splatoon trying to barge in."

"How can the Gorge be of assistance?" He asked.

"I need some troops to help me out of this situation." I told him. "Some Elites to splat those Inksquirts! After the humiliation they've given me, I don't want them leaving the Canyon!"

"Hm…" He seemed to be thinking. "I think I know a way to help you with the second one...as for the first, it will take some time. Where is Cassandra?"

"I have no idea!" I hissed. "That incompetent ran from the fight before the castle was even infiltrated!"

"…I see…" He took note of that. "Don't worry, they won't be leaving the Canyon…"

 **Elsewhere…Tim's POV**

Wow…Sarah! And Nina…or…well…Nine I guess, right now…

"Sarah!" I rushed to give her a big hug.

"Oooooowwww…" She seemed to be in pain.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" I immediately backed away. "What happened?"

"Had a run in with an old…person I don't like." She answered.

"This Inkling girl…" The stranger behind me leaned over. "Have I seen you before…?"

I hope not…

"Uh…" Sarah was clearly weirded out by him.

"I'm here too." C-1 I think he was called, popped out from behind me. "Hey, I remember you to! Have you seen mama?"

"Mama?" Nine looked confused.

"Sorry, I don't know who or where your mama is…" Sarah told him.

"Anyway, glad you're here!" I interrupted. "You can take me back now!"

"Right!" Sarah nodded.

I immediately got behind Sarah and Nina.

"You can go away now." I told the other two Octarians.

"Okay." C-1 immediately agreed.

"Are you sure yo-"

"Yes." I glared at the stranger. "I'll be fine…"

He seemed taken aback, but not surprised by my reaction.

"…Alright…" He pressed the button. "May we meet again under better circumstances, my Prince."

"I don't want to see you again." I told him.

He just looked like he was thinking as the elevators closed.

"…Wait, didn't we need that elevator?" Nine asked.

After a brief moment of realization, I pressed the call button.

After a few minutes that felt like an eternity of waiting, the elevator came back. We stepped on it and I pressed the top floor button. The doors then closed and we went up, elevator music playing all the way.

"Hey, I've heard this song." Sarah said. "It was on Guyver's CDs."

"The ones that made me feel weird?" I wondered.

"They did?" She was surprised. "Wait…oh yeah…those were Octavio's songs…the brainwashing ones."

"They were?" I was surprised. "Oh…huh…

 _Let's just say you listened to somethin' ya…shouldn't've yet…_

I guess…but why'd you make the songs then…?

Why do you do that to people…?

I'll have to ask him when we get back…

"Alright…there's the Kettle exit." Sarah pointed out.

Huh…no guards…

We quickly dove into the Kettle and arrived in the area with the Cabin.

I ran forwards as Nine helped Sarah walk.

"Tim?" A familiar Octoling recognized me.

"Marina!" I ran up and gave her a hug.

"Heh…wow…my little student turned out to be a prince…" She was told about that.

"Heh…surprised me too…" I rubbed the back of my head.

"Hey…" Octavio, back in the snow globe, gave a small wave, not making eye contact.

"…Hey…" I gave a small wave back.

"Sarah!" Marina noticed and got up. "What happened?!"

"Run in with a familiar face." Sarah told Marina. "Good news is Arnold's back."

"Oh, cool!" Marina smiled. "I'll contact the other agents and let them know Tim's back."

Nine then laid Sarah down with help from a mysterious Urchin in a bandanna.

"Can I wait in the Square?" I asked, putting my goggles back on. "I'm starving for something from the Crust Bucket…"

"Sure thing, Tim." Marina nodded her head. "Just come right back, okay?"

"I will!" I waved before diving in the manhole.

Finally! Out of there! Back to Inkopolis! Back to the-

 ***PANG!***

I collided with the other side. Wait…what? Last time I came here it was a straight shot through…

I pushed my tentacles, but something was blocking the exit.

What the shell?!

I swam back.

"Uh…guys?" I got their attention.

"What?" Marina asked, confused.

"Something's blocking the other side…" I told them. "Did you guys lock it or something?"

Everyone stared at me in confusion.

"…What?"


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19

 **Inkopolis Square…**

Otis sat at a table sipping his drink as he hung out with Damien and Zoey.

"…Soooo where's that fishy friend of yours?" Damien asked.

"Shell if I know…" Otis shrugged. "She said 'That look fresh' and took off. That was about an hour ago…"

"Her Inklish must be really bad…" Damien guessed. "I mean, better than it could be, but…"

"How do you know?" Otis raised an eyebrow.

"I-I've met um-people who barely spoke the language at all." He told Otis.

"Mei and Guyver helped me with my Inklish." Zoey said.

"I mean, it is becoming more and more common there, right?" Damien asked her.

"Yes…our culture is dying…" She sighed. "Want some of my smoothie?"

"N-no thanks…" He turned it down, feeling awkward now. "H-hey, at least you're out of those crumbling domes."

"Yeah!" She smiled. "No getting crushed, no brainwashing, and no horrible Sergeants training me!"

"Was yours bad?" Otis asked.

"The worst!" She hissed. "She was a sadistic, abusive, manipulative drunk!"

"Same one as Mei and Guyver?" Otis wondered.

"Yes." She nodded her head.

"Cass must've really messed you up…" Damien remarked.

"She really did…" Zoey replied.

"Yeah…" Otis then realized something was off. "You know her name, Damien?"

"Uh…Zoey told me." He replied.

"Did I?" Zoey tried recalling. "No…I don't think so…"

"M-maybe I heard that name s-somewhere before…" Damien seemed to be recalling. "I-I remember other Octos talking c-carp about a Sergeant with that name…g-guess I just figured."

"Heh…you figured right!" Zoey told him.

"Um-well, you want some Crusty Sean's?" Damien asked them.

"Sure." Otis nodded.

"Crusty Sean's food is greasy and has tons of cholesterol." Zoey told him. "I'd love some!"

They got up and walked over to the Crust Bucket when Otis saw a familiar face was in the truck.

"Terry?" He couldn't believe it.

"Hello, Otis!" Terry waved. "Tasty-looking Prawn man had gave me the job!"

"Got lonely in here after my last employee left, so I figured, why not?" Crusty Sean shrugged. "He just…has to learn to control the drooling…"

"Wha-huh?" Terry wiped some drool from his mouth after looking at the food Sean was serving.

"As long as you keep the drool off of the food, you'll be fine." Sean told him.

Terry nodded his head in response.

"So what are your stomachs growling for?" Terry asked.

"I'll have the Galactic Seanwich." Otis said. "With an Ink-Charge Melon drink."

"Triple-Fried Galactic Schwaffle for two." Damien said. "With a Swim-Speed Apple and Special-Up Smoothie."

"Coming up!" Crusty Sean immediately started on the food. Terry, having just started, simply sat and watched as Sean prepared the food and drinks, trying not to drool on the floor. "Here you go!"

"Thanks!" The trio paid Sean and got the food.

"See ya, Terry!" Otis waved.

"Bye bye!" Terry waved back.

The trio then sat down and ate their meals. About halfway through his meal, Otis noticed someone hunched over near the Ammo Knights.

"Ivan!" He waved, getting the cephalopod's attention.

He seemed startled at first, but turned and faced Otis with a smile. He then walked over.

"Heya!" He waved as he sat at the table. "Sorry, I was just tying my shoe. What's up?"

"Where have you been?" Otis wanted an answer. "You just disappeared."

"I was accused of a crime and wanted to lay low for a while." Ivan shrugged. "Looks like everything's blown over now."

"I guess…" Fizz shrugged. "Still have a few questions though…and I'll be expecting answers for them…"

"And I'll be more than happy to answer them," Ivan assured him. "But I've been itching for a bite to eat."

"The Crust Bucket has a new employee!" Otis told him. "And it's a new friend of mine!"

"Oh, really?" He looked over. "Is it the S-"

He then flinched, as if not expecting something.

"…Ivan?" Otis was concerned.

"Sorry…" Ivan faced him. "I-uh…can't take Crusty Sean's today. Doctor says I gotta watch my cholesterol."

"Wuss!" Zoey shouted, startling him. "It's good to worry about your health."

"Oh, Damien, I gotta show you something!" Ivan shot up. "This way!"

"Oh, uh…okay…" Damien got up and followed him.

Otis and Zoey sat there, confused, but shrugged it off as Ivan being weird.

"So how's the thing with Damien going?" Otis asked Zoey.

"Good." Zoey answered. "We have a lot in common, turns out."

"Like what?" Otis wondered.

"His board games are super nerdy and lame." She told me. "I love them! They're so fun to play!"

"Heh, yeah." Otis nodded his head. "They're even more fun with a group. You should come to our game nights more often."

Zoey then started giggling in excitement.

Ivan took him around the corner past the Urchins and pulled him aside.

"Damien, what is going on?!" Ivan asked him, panicked.

"S-shouldn't you know?!" Damien asked him, equally confused. "I thought you said he got rid of that thing!"

"He did!" Ivan told him. "When did it come back and why didn't you tell me?!"

"I-I only found out when Otis met me in the Square!" Damien defended himself. "I was g-going to t-tell you afterwards. What are you doing here?"

"I had to lock that dumb manhole" Ivan said. "This though…this is gonna be a problem…"

"Well, he's working for Crusty Sean." Damien pointed out. "You can hang with us when he's at his job!"

"Yeah…that's a good point…" Ivan nodded his head. "We can still make this work! We just have to be careful…"

"W-won't he get suspicious if you two never meet?" Damien wondered.

"That…would cause issues…" Ivan admitted. "We'll have to think about that…"

"Ivan…d-do you think this is s-s-still gonna work?" Damien asked, getting worried now. "W-what if they find out?"

"Hey, calm down, Damien." Ivan patted his head. "It'll be fine. I mean, there's only one of them."

"Heh…yeah…" Damien nodded his head. "This can still work."

"That's the spirit!" Ivan patted his back.

Ivan then started chuckling. Damien joined the chuckle to, but their collective chuckle was interrupted by something odd…

 ***Sniff* *Sniff***

Ivan and Damien then looked down behind them to see a Salmon girl sniffing Ivan before looking at him. They were about to say something when the confused Salmonling pointed at Ivan with a confused expression.

"You smell…Octopus?"


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

 **Octo Canyon Central Dome…**

The Central Castle was a warzone again as the now respawned Elites had returned to the Dome. The Agents had to fight their way out to survive, escaping through the vents once again.

"I cannot believe she got the drop on us!" Agent 3 shouted.

"Hey, it's fine, Three." Eight assured her as they dropped into another room. "We just-"

"Sshh!" Agent 3 shushed her as a patrol barely missed them. "We need to be careful…"

"Yeah, you do." A familiar voice said as he jumped down into the room as well.

The agents looked at the figure in shock and pleasant surprise. Agent three then slowly walked up and threw her arms around her friend.

"Heh…missed me?" Arnold correctly guessed.

"Arnold…don't you do that to me…to any of us again, you hear?" Agent 3 begged.

"Heh…don't worry." 3.5 said, patting her head. "I won't scare you like that again."

"Good." Three then pulled away. "Well, I just got a call from Marina. We've got Tim back."

"Well, that's good to know." 3.5 nodded his head.

Agent 3 then held her headset and looked worried. She was saying a mix of Uh-huh's and I see's. She then looked at all of the agents with a worried, yet somehow still stoic expression. It took her a few seconds to think of the right words to say.

"We're in more trouble." She finally said. "Apparently someone blocked our path to the Square…"

"What?!" Agent 8 looked at her in shock.

"Figures something would go wrong…" Guyver sighed.

"Maybe we should call someone on the other side?" Arnold suggested.

"Well, we have Cap'n, Otis, and Pearl on the other side." Three told him.

"Okay, let's call Otis or Pearl." Three suggested. "We'll need to get someone who might be close to the square and the Cap'n went to the Plaza with Ammoses."

"Good idea." Eight complimented.

"Right!" She then tuned into her headset. "Hey, Marina, have you tried calling Otis or Pearl? Yeah, she's trying to cover for you? Okay…what do you mean, he's busy?!"

 **Earlier…Inkopolis Square…**

"Finnia!" Terry shouted, panicked.

"What's going on?" Otis asked.

"Finnia is in the trouble!" He must have sensed. "Someone has her! I smell it! I can hear her! It sound like ***Distressed Salmon Noises*** "

"We need to find her then!" Zoey decided.

"Follow me!" Terry hopped out of the Food Truck. "I will be returning later, tasty-looking Prawn Man!"

"Uh…okay…" Crusty Sean waved, a bit weirded out.

Terry then darted off with Zoey and Otis following close behind. Terry then stopped when they turned the corner and sniffed around. "This way!" They then continued onward. They cut a few corners before arriving in the open street where there was a crowd of people. Despite this, the Salmonling could still find the direction.

"So can you smell who has her?" Otis asked.

"…Two…" Terry sniffed the air. "One Squid… ***Sniff*** …One Octopus."

"Wow…" Otis scratched his head. "That crazy sense of smell…"

They continued to follow the Salmon kid further down. As Otis followed, he realized that he was getting somewhat close to Ivan's house. He wondered to himself where he and Damien went. Then thoughts returned to him about the accusations made against him. 'Sure, Ivan's…off' He thought '…but he's not a bad guy.' He then got a text from Marina, but he had to reply with "Busy" before reading it. This was a bit more important at the moment.

 **Otis's POV**

"Here!" Terry said as we arrived at Ivan's door.

"…Carp…" I groaned as they arrived on the door. "Well…let's get this over with…"

I knocked on the door, but no one answered.

"Ivan!" I called through the door. "It's me! I know you're in there! Open up!"

Still no answer.

"He's in there." Zoey told the two. "I just saw him in the window."

"That is it!" Terry jumped through said window. The two cephalopods rushed in after him.

"H-hey, wait!" Ivan shouted. "It's not what it looks like!"

"Okay, Ivan…" I sighed. "Where are Finnia and your Octoling friend?"

"O-Octoling?!" His eyes widened. "There's no Octoling here!"

"No lies, Octopus man!" Terry yelled as he lunged forward and bit Ivan's arm.

"Fuck him up!" Zoey shouted. "B-but not too badly…"

"Terry, stop!" I shouted, concerned for my suspicious friend.

"AAAAAAAGHHH!" Ivan shrieked in pain as he smacked Terry's head to try to force him off of him.

"Terry, sto-"

I then froze in confusion, as did Zoey at the sight we were seeing. As Ivan was panicking, hitting Terry, and writhing in pain, he was…changing colors…rapidly…like, every color in the entire spectrum not only his hair, but his whole body…uh…why?!

"Sh-she's in the closet!" Ivan shouted, causing Terry to release him from his jaws and rush over there.

Sure enough, Finnia was in the closet. She wasn't tied up or anything, but still. Terry kept hugging while telling her it was okay. Ivan then rubbed his arm, then looked at us, confused that we were staring at him.

"…What?" He asked.

"What…was that?" Zoey asked.

Ivan tilted his head in confusion.

"You changed colors!" I told him. "Not only your hair, but your skin and everything."

His eyes then widened and he looked around, unsure of how to proceed. I then realized something.

"Ivan…" I looked him in the eye. "He…called you an Octopus…care to explain why a squid smells just like an octopus to him? Or why you squidnapped someone who likely smelled the same thing?"

He stared at us a moment before sighing.

"Well…guess my cover's blown…" He shrugged.

"So you are the spy…" I correctly guessed. "Then again, I guess that's not really a twist since you were the only suspect…and you do know an unusual amount of stuff about us."

"Well…I guess the twist isn't that I've been spying on you then…" He shrugged.

"Is it the color-changing thing?" I guessed.

"More than that…" He replied.

What happened next left me speechless… He grabbed his hoodie, pulled it over his head, and dropped it on the floor. Underneath, he was wearing a sleeveless crop-top. If that wasn't strange enough, his skin turned almost ghostly pale and he flipped his tentacles over so they didn't cover his eye and hanging on the right side with his suction cups on top. They then turned black with white stripes and his Inkling eye mask turned into Octoling eye-rings.

"Well?" He asked me, putting a hand on his hip. "What do ya think of the real me? Still pretty handsome, right?"

"Heh…heheh…Hahaha!" I laughed a bit, causing both him and Zoey to tilt their heads in confusion. "So that's why we never saw any pics of your girl back home. She's an Octoling too!"

"I'm…surprised that's what you're taking from this, but yeah…heh…that is pretty funny…" He chuckled too. "Well then, Otis, what happens next?"

"I take you in, obviously." I stated.

"I assume you have a way of getting me there?" He guessed.

"Well, four against one." I pointed out. "Also two of them are Salmonlings that could tear you apart."

"And would!" Terry added with Finnia shyly nodding her head.

"Alright then…" Ivan walked over and held his wrists out. "Arrest me…"

I looked around for something that could be used as restraints. I decided to grab the nearby tablecloth, roll it up, and use it.

"Well, this was gonna happen eventually, Ivan…or…is that even your real name?" I wondered.

"Sort of." He shrugged. "I added a 'van' to it. Real name's Eye. I got that name after angering my superior enough to give me an injury warranting that name…and no, it wasn't who you think it was, it was someone completely irrelevant to your life."

"O…kaaaay…" Zoey was weirded out by the phrasing of that.

"Just put your arms in the binding." I told him.

"Okay." He held his wrists out before bolting past me and jumping out of the broken window. "Psyche!"

"Ivan!" I jumped out after him.

"It's Eye, technically!" He shouted as he ran…up…the outside stairs.

"Yeah, I'm not calling you that!" I told him as I gave chase with Zoey and the others following not too far behind.

I got to the top of the stairs to see him preparing a Superjump. I knew exactly where he was going, so I prepared one as well. We both shot off towards the park and landed almost right next to each other. He kept bolting with me starting to catch up. He then stopped dead in his tracks and tripped me before I could stop my momentum, then sped off. By the time I got up, he had already made it to the grate.

"Sorry, Otis…" He shrugged. "Hope this doesn't change anything."

"It kinda does." I told him.

"Well, shoot…" He huffed. "Well, hope we can be friends still, tell Beth no hard feelings, and good luck! Sayonara!"

"Wait, what about your sister Eileen?" I asked. "She's an Octoling too, right? Are you gonna leave her behind?"

"Oh yeah…about that…" He rubbed the back of his head as if he felt awkward. "That was just me in drag."

"…What?" I tilted my head. "That's not-"

He then shifted his hair, colors, and even hips to look exactly like Eileen.

"Sorry Oatmeal with maple and brown sugar," He said in a perfect feminine voice. "Dude all along. Ever notice we were never really in the same place at the same time?"

I was left speechless as he shifted back.

He then saluted me and dove into the manhole. Zoey and the two Salmonlings landed right after.

"What happen?" Finnia asked.

"He got away…" I replied.

"You utter failure!" Zoey shouted. "I'm sure you did your best…"

"What now?" Finnia asked.

I took a second to think, and then turned to walk towards the Square.

"I'm gonna see what Marina wanted…"


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21

 **Octo Canyon…Tim's POV**

Great…so close, yet so far…the way back is blocked because of course it is…

"You alright, Tim?" Marina asked.

"No." I replied. "I finally got the chance to go home and the way's blocked."

"It'll be unblocked soon." She assured me.

"You're taking this pretty well…" I noticed.

"It's better to remain calm in situations like these." Marina told me. "In the army, they teach you to keep calm in less than desirable situations. It keeps morale up and shows you have a slight bit of control over the situation."

"Huh, so ya did actually retain some of that military training." Octavio spoke. "Now if only ya didn't waste it sellin' out to the Inklings."

"Making a better life for myself and bringing people joy through music isn't 'selling out'!" Marina shouted. "If anything, I'm helping Inklings warm up to Octarians!"

"You even tell any of yer fans that yer an Octoling yet?" He narrowed his eyes at her.

"Can you leave her alone?" I groaned. "Marina's a really nice person."

"…Whatev's…" Octavio crossed his arms and turned away.

"You're not going to rub that into the ground again?" Marina asked him.

"Not gonna argue with ma grandson." Octavio replied.

That caught both of our attentions, but he is right…any more arguing would be annoying and pointless…

"Well, what do we do now?" The mysterious Urchin known as Point asked. "I'm still waiting for my fr-uh…associates to get here."

"Where even are they?" I wondered.

"They ran into some reinforcements from Octo Gorge." Marina told me. "They're holding their own, but the enemies are not making it easy."

"Well, at least they can be a good team." I said.

"Um…" Marian looked a little nervous. "Weeeell…"

 **Meanwhile…Octo Canyon…**

 ***Splat!***

"Another down!" One shouted.

"Get down!" Agent 2 shoved him down and splatted another Octarian.

 ***Splat!***

"Another down." Seven splatted an Octoling with her Charger.

"Ssssstop sssshoving me!" One hissed.

"I'm trying to not get you creeps splatted." Agent 2 told him.

"We can handle ourssselvesss…" One told her before splatting another Octoling.

"I'm sure you can, but your gear won't take you back to the Cabin to respawn." Marie warned him. "You get Splatted and no one has a jar or something to catch your ghost, that'll be it for you."

The team took note of that as another wave came after them. They managed to splat many enemy Octarians, but more and more kept coming. It seemed Sieg had sent a large force to help out Julia.

"I sssssuggessst we fall back!" One said, realizing they'd all get captured or splatted if this continued.

"Right!" Agent 2 shot a hole in an overhead vent. "This way!"

They all Superjumped into the vents.

"That did not go well…" Six remarked.

"Well, we'll need to regroup." Agent 2 told them.

They all nodded and continued on throughout the vents.

"We need to find the ressst of the agentsss." One said.

Agent 2 then tuned into her communicator. There, she got a message of Tim's retrieval, the locked manhole, and Julia's escape. She decided to lead the team throughout the vents to Agent 3's location. They were making their way through the vents when they heard something moving around.

Agent 2 had the group stop as whoever it was got closer…closer…she aimed her Charger as it got closer…closer…she kept her finger on the trigger…she would be fully prepared for when Sylvia turned the corner…wait...

"Sylvia!" Agent 2 shouted.

"Hey!" Sylvia rushed over to them.

"What are you doing here?" Six asked.

"I-uh…was trying to follow Arnold, but I lost track of him…" Sylvia admitted. "I tried getting to the castle since I knew some of the agents were there, but ran into more Octarians…I hid in the vents…"

"Just…stick with us, okay?" Agent 2 told her. "You're safer with us."

"Says the girl who was prepared to shoot her a second ago…" One pointed out.

"I have good trigger discipline!" Agent 2 hissed. "And what happened to your lisp?"

"Ssstay behind usss, Ssssylvia…" One said. "We'll keep you sssafe…"

Agent 2 glared at him.

"We're going to regroup with the other agents." Agent 2 told her. "Just follow us."

Sylvia nodded her head and followed them.

The team radioed Agent 3 that they were coming to meet up. It didn't take long for the agents to all find each other.

 ***Slap!***

"You ditched Sylvia!" Agent 2 shouted.

"I thought she was right behind me!" 3.5 tried defending himself.

"Not good enough!" She shook her head.

"Hey, I lost track of him." Sylvia defended him. "Let's cut him some slack."

"…Fine…" Agent 2 reluctantly agreed. "Let's just…make our way back…"

 **Cuttlefish Cabin…**

The Cephalopods and Urchin were sitting around, bored and wondering what to do. Sarah was inside the cabin, resting, Nine was napping outside the cabin, "Point" was spitting over the edge, Marina was helping the other agents over the comms, and Tim was sitting with his back against the snowglobe.

"Hey, you're not spitting on anyone, are you?" Tim asked Point.

"Shouldn't be." Marina answered. "There's a bit of a 'No going to the surface' rule."

"Would be kind of funny if someone popped up at the wrong time though." Point Chuckled.

"Yeah, I guess it would be…just a little…" Tim admitted.

"Really?" Marina looked at Tim.

"Hey, I mean, if it was someone ya didn't like, I can see that." Octavio defended them both. "Like that incompetent Octosniper…or Gary the Octoball…"

"Or Julia…" Tim added.

"Julia?" Octavio looked at him. "That suck-up? I mean, she's annoyin', but barely even worth it."

"She's horrible!" Tim shouted. "She tried to kill me!"

"What?" Octavio raised an eyebrow. "Nah, I know Julia. She's a total wimpy suck-up."

"No!" Tim shook his head. "She's-"

Tim was cut off by unfamiliar figures coming out of the kettles while others were flying through the air towards them. The others noticed and Nine readied her Brush, Marina grabbed a nearby Brella, and Point looked around and pulled two spikes out of his hair and held them like knives. Octolings Elites landed in front of them as more came from the kettles.

The Octoling Elites held the Splatoon at gunpoint as the Splatoon did them. It was a standoff, both sides with weapons focused on each other as one Elite came out ahead of the others.

"You and your Splatoon forced me to shed my kimono for my armor…" Julia said in an annoyed tone. "It's been a long time since I had to dress in this, and I only do so when I have to get serious…that means you really pissed me off…"

 **Author's Note: I'd liek to announce that I'm doing a Oneshot collection project with ZygardeFusion and a few other authors. So keep your eyes open for that in the future.**


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22

 **Otis's POV**

We were back at the Square with Terry going back to work, so it was up to me, Finnia, and Zoey. Pearl said she'd come in a few minutes and…okay…apparently Ivan locked the manhole…

I'm gonna need help…

I opened the door.

"Yo, Sheldon! Can ya help?" I called out to the Horseshoe crab.

"Most certainly!" He came over from behind a desk. "What can I help you with? Do you need assistance with your Carbon Roller? Because I can-"

"I need you to break a lock." I interrupted him before he droned on.

"A…lock?" He tilted his head, clearly confused.

I gestured him to come over and he followed me outside to find the manhole locked.

"Oh, dear…" He looked at it. "How'd that happen?"

"Long story." I didn't want to explain. "For now, I need that lock broken."

"Alright, I believe I have something in back!" He said before running inside.

Alright, hopefully nothing too bad is happening…

 **Cuttlefish Cabin…Tim's POV**

Great…she's back…and with a small army of those Octolings with the funny shades… We're at a standoff…Marina with her Brella, Nine with her Brush, injured Sarah in the cabin, and Point threatening the soldiers with his spikes...

"I'm here for you and these Splatoon punks, my King." Julia said, bowing to Octavio.

"Well, that's great to hear!" Octavio probably grinned. "Bout time someone came to get me! Were ya'll seriously scared of frail old Cuttlefish?"

"It was his agents this time in the Canyon and we didn't want to risk it just yet." Julia replied. "I'm not sure what the soldiers in the Valley were doing…"

"Well, it's good yer here!" Octavio said. "Now, let me outta here!"

"With pleasure, my King…" The sea witch lied. "I assume a reward will be in order?"

"Of course!" Octavio nodded. "Whatcha want?"

She looked to her soldiers and nodded at them.

"If it wouldn't be too much of a bother…" She walked over to the snowglobe and me. "I've served you loyally for years. I have dedicated my life to the Octarian cause. For my actions, loyalty, and devotion, for my reward, I want to be the heir."

Octavio looked at her weirdly.

"Uh, not sure if ya've seen it yet, but I've already marked my heir." He motioned towards me.

"Yes…I'm very aware…" She said in an annoyed tone. "But I'm asking you to possibly reconsider."

"I can't go back on it." Octavio told her. "The mark is permanent."

Oh…

"How about you burn it more to erase it?" She suggested. "Then give me one?"

"Why do you-" He then realized. "You DID try to kill him, didn't you?"

"A burst of negative emotions and nothing more, my liege." She totally lied. "Now, have we a deal?"

"A deal?!" He looked furious. "I should splat you right now! Soldiers, arrest her!"

The soldiers didn't move.

"…Soldiers!" He called them again.

The soldiers still didn't move. It's like nothing he said was getting through to them.

"Alright, how about an ultimatum then?" She aimed her Octoshot at me. "Do what I say or he will die."

Everyone of name was staring at Julia when she said that.

"Y-yer just gonna let her d-" He then stopped when looking at all the troops. "No…"

"What is it?" I wanted to know.

"They have Shades on!" Marina shouted. "They're all hypnotized!"

"And to follow MY orders, not yours." Julia smirked. "Now, give me what's rightfully mine. I didn't spend all my life sucking up to you and your stolen crown to get nothing!"

Stolen?

"The shell are you talkin' about?!" Octavio glared at her. "I was born with this title in-mind!"

"You know what your father did!" She shouted. "I WILL have what's rightfully mine and you won't stop me! Now do it or your poorly chosen heir will be a stain on the floor!"

Octavio then gave Julia an intense stare, Julia returned it with her own intense stare. I swear you could hear a pin drop with how quiet it got.

"Fine." Julia put the Octoshot to my head. "Your decision."

She turned to me and started to squeeze the trigger-

"Wait!" Octavio shouted. "D-don't hurt the kid, a'ight?"

Everyone was staring at Octavio except for Julia, who looked at him with a confident smirk.

"A wise choice…" Julia said. "Bring the cart so we can wheel him off!"

One of Julia's Elites then wheeled over a cart.

"Ain't ya gonna let me out?" Octavio asked as they loaded him on.

"Can't risk you escaping, my liege." She said.

"You're not treating him like your liege..." I pointed out.

"You're coming too." Julia told me. "Insurance."

"Of course…" I rolled my eyes.

But just before anything could happen, figures popped out of the manhole to Inkopolis.

"Octopus! Finnia say!" Some fish girl shouted as Otis came rushing in with a Roller.

"Splat 'em!" Pearl shouted, starting to fire her Dualies. "Danananananananana!"

"Never change, Pearl!" Marina shouted after splatting an Octoling Elite while the group was distracted.

Nine then started battling with her Brush, splatting several Elites, but reinforcements came from the kettles. One almost got her from behind when Sarah threw a Splat Bomb from inside the cabin with more inside.

"Stay back, I'm poisonous!" Point shouted as he backed into a corner, holding the two spikes in front of him.

More Elites kept pouring from the kettles until they suddenly stopped and started getting Splatted from behind. More Agents were coming along with Toxic Mist, Sylvia and Guyver being among them.

"Oh, for the love of…" Julia shook her head at the chaos that was unfolding. "Splat them already! This should not be-"

I grabbed her weapon before she could finish and tried to wrestle it from her, but she yanked it back and smacked me so hard, I flew back and hit the snowglobe.

"Woah!" Octavio freaked out as it moved. "G-guys…guys!"

I looked behind me to see the snowglobe rolling towards the side. It hit the edge and was going to fall off! I scrambled to try to hold it there.

"Soldiers, get the snowglobe!" Julia shouted to troops who were getting splatted.

I tried my best to pull on it and keep it up, but I then got lifted off of the ground as the Snowglobe tipped over.

"Boy, let go now!" Octavio shouted.

"W-what?!" I stared wide-eyed at him.

"You keep holdin' on and you could get-" He didn't even get to finish as the glass prison fell off, pulling me with it. I glanced back to see Julia running up towards us as the other agents were looking in shock.

"Huh?!"

"What?!"

"NO!"

"TIIIIIIIIM!"


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter 23

 **FAAAAAAALLIIIIIIIING!**

Oh, carp, clammit! WHAT THE SHARK DO I DO?!

I looked around, panicked. I had no idea what to do. Sure, we can survive high heights, but NOT THIS HIGH! I would splat at this high. I looked at Octavio, who was equally panicked.

"WE'RE GONNA HIT THE PLATFORM!" I yelled.

"OPEN THE GLOBE!" He yelled. "THEN SHIFT FORMS!"

I quickly opened the snowglobe and shifted to octopus form. Octavio climbed out and grabbed me.

"There's ink down there!" I shouted.

"CHANGE YO COLOR!" He shouted at me.

I shifted to that fuchsia color as quickly as I could. He then Prepared a Superjump and lifted off of the snowglobe just before it hit the platform, breaking from the force of the fall. We still fell into the ink, but Octavio's Superjump lessened the speed of our descent by a heck of a lot. We then popped the top of our octopus heads out of the ink.

"We're alive?" I looked over to Octavio, then jumped onto him. "We're alive!"

He wrapped his tentacles around me as we chuckled. I then remembered he's a bad guy and let go.

"So-uh…where do we go now?" I asked him.

"Well, there's a lot of hypnotized troops in the Canyon…" He told me as we swam over to a platform and started climbing up. "We gotta get to the Octobot King so I can get 'em back to my side!"

I scoffed at that idea…yeah, it'd save us, but maybe something not brainwashing? I mean, I saw what that did to the agents…and Sylvia…

We then got to the top. He was ecstatic while I started lagging behind.

"Come on, boy!" He said, turning to me. "Yer slowin' down!"

"Well, sorry if I'm not exactly eager…" I sighed.

"Not eager?!" He looked at me like I was weird. "This is yo chance to get back at that traitor! She tried to kill ya!"

"Is there a way to do that without mind-controlling people?" I asked.

"I don't care about that right now!" He replied. "I care about putting that insubordinate bitch in her place!"

"You don't care about the fact that your own people get brainwashed and you let it happen?!" I shouted. "How can you do that?! Why do you do that?!"

He didn't seem to expect an outburst like that and went silent, likely thinking of a response. I stood there, arms crossed, waiting for a good explanation.

"Look, these guys…we gotta be on the same page." He started explaining. "We need to stick together. They need to follow orders. I use ma beats to make them more likely to listen. They give up and run away otherwise…"

"You plan on ever lifting it?" I asked. "You manage to beat the Inklings and conquer Inkopolis or whatever, do you plan on lifting it?"

"…I mean…eventually…" He replied.

"When?" I wanted an answer.

"Look, I'll figure it out when I get to it, a'ight?" He shrugged. "I ain't arguin' this right now."

"…Fine…" I sighed. "Let's just do this so I can go home and try my best to forget that I'm related to a brainwashing psychopath…"

I started to walk forward before being stopped by him.

"Kid…I'mma be real with ya…" He looked at me. "I'll admit it ain't the best plan, but it's what I gotta do. As King, I gotta keep the lot together. We divide, we die. We stick together, we survive. That's how we survived down there."

"Why don't you just talk to the Inklings?" I needed an answer. "They'd be willing to help!"

"They never do squat for us!" He yelled. "All Inklings do is take! They took what was left of our land, they took our chances for power, and they took your father! You think I'll ever forgive them for murdering my boy?!"

W-what…? They…huh…? I…

His eyes widened.

"You…didn't know that, did ya…?" He asked.

"I…know he died, but…Inklings killed him…?" I looked at him.

"…Only one person came back from his squad…" He told me. "She told me they were attacked by Inklings…I thought yo mama died in the fight…wasn't until the other week that I learned that not only did she survive…but that she had you…you can imagine how ecstatic I was to find that out…"

I…actually started crying a bit…He then pulled me in for a hug…not exactly comfortable hugging a crazy dictator, but…a hug just…seemed to be what I needed…I ended up leaning into the hug…

"Now, let's get goin'." Octavio said, breaking the hug. "I imagine Julia's got an escape plan and there're still a bunch of hypnotized troops…"

"Speaking of which…" I saw more coming out of the kettles.

"DIVE!" He shouted as he pulled me into the nearest kettle.

As we dove in, an alarm sounded.

"Ah, Carp…" He sighed. "She put the Canyon on lockdown…"

"Meaning…?" I was hesitant to know the answer.

"Can't get to another settlement, everyone's supposed to stay in their homes, and everyone outside who ain't a soldier is to be taken in…best we make sure that troop don't have a pair on 'em…"

"So, where do we go?" I wondered.

"We take the scenic route." Octavio told me as he led me down a probably different path.

Suddenly, we were out in what looked like city streets with buildings shaped like…potted plants…what…? Anyway, the houses were locked tight, so no going in those…though he wasn't leading me into those anyway…

"There they are!" A captain of one of the hypnotized squads quickly found us.

"Run!" Octavio grabbed my arm and started bolting down the streets.

We bolted down many streets as the hypnotized troops gave chase. We cut several corners, but it seemed like we couldn't shake them. It looked like there was an exit nearby, but it was cut-off by more guards…we had to take a detour.

" _Left"_

I had us turn left…why?

" _Left"_

It was coming from my goggles…

" _Right"_

The voice sounded familiar…

"What're ya doin?" Octavio asked.

"Just…follow me!" I told him as I led the two of us through the alleyways.

The familiar voice kept leading us down different paths. We kept cutting corners without shaking the soldiers when a door suddenly opened.

"In here!" A voice cried out.

Starting to get tired from the running, we ran inside as the mysterious person closed the door behind us. The soldiers ran past the building, having not seen us enter.

"I'm so glad you two are safe…" The mysterious figure turned around.

My eyes widened.

"V-Valerie…?"


	24. Chapter 24

Chapter 24

 **Cuttlefish Cabin…**

"Welp…Julia escaped again…" Agent 2 said.

"That's not important!" Sylvia shouted as she, Agent 4, and Guyver were looking over the side. "What about Tim?!"

"He is safe." Seven told everyone, looking through her charger. "They jumped out and landed in the Ink. They hopped into one of those kettles afterwards."

"Oh, good…" Agent 4 said as she and her friends sighed in relief.

"Now, we need a plan…" Agent 2 told everyone.

"What sort of plan?" Agent 8 asked.

"Well…" Agent 3 stepped up. "Julia's escaped. She has control over all of the hypnotized troops in the Canyon, so is likely hunting them down. She probably relocated non-hypnotized troops to wherever she doesn't think they'll run into the royals while she hunts them down…"

"And Octavio's probably going to make a break for the Octobot King." Agent 2 added. No way he won't try to grab power and steal the Zapfish again…"

"But he does know this Julia betrayed him." 3.5 added. "He'll probably go after her first after regaining control of the hypnotized troops."

"So we gotta get down to Cephalon!" Agent 4 shouted.

"Not you, you're injured." Agent 3 told her. "Ugh, if only Ca…Agent 1 was here…

"Wait…when's her…appointment supposed to be over?" 4.5 asked.

"Around 3:00." Agent 2 told him. "…Why?"

"Because…it's 3:20…" Otis replied.

Suddenly, a familiar figure came in through the grate from Inkopolis.

"Heya guys!" She struck her Stay Fresh pose. "Otis wasn't home when I came over. What'd I…miss?"

The entire group stared at her in disbelief.

"Is that Callie?" One asked, dropping his lisp for a second.

"You sound familiar…" Guyver noticed.

"Oh Cod, Callie…" Agent 2 sighed.

"…I am so sorry, M-I mean, Agent 2…" Callie apologized.

"Forget it…" Marie sighed as she took her face-mask off. "No point if they already know who one of us is…"

"M-Marie?!" One shouted, startled.

Six, Seven, and Nine looked at the two pop stars before them in disbelief while point had already fainted from the reveal.

"Well, now that the catfish is out of the bag…" Marie groaned. "Let's get to work…"

 **Tim's POV**

I immediately hugged Valerie tightly.

"How'd you get here?!" I asked. "How'd you find us?!"

"I-I was put under strict supervision after the Splatoon invaded the castle." She told us. "I managed to escape, trace your goggles' transmission code, and saw which kettle you went in. I also spied on the comms and found out what Julia did…I'll never forgive her…"

"Don't have to." Octavio said. "Once I'm back in charge, I'm putting her in front of a firing squad."

"Firing squad?" I looked a little concerned. "C-can't we just imprison her?"

"Boy, we ain't got the resources to lock her up for life." Octavio told me. "If it ain't execution, it'll be stage 3 hypnosis."

"Oh…" I was still nervous about the killing part. "W-well…whatever happens, I guess…so what now…?"

"Now…" Val broke the hug. "I'm going to lead you guys to where you'll be safe for now. Julia's putting guards around the Octobot King since I'm guessing that's where you were planning on going, so we need to lay low somewhere else for now."

"Aaaand that would be…?" Octavio looked at her.

"Follow me." She urged us to go with her.

 **15 Minutes Later…**

Valerie took us around the different domes, helping us avoid Julia's patrols. We somehow managed to successfully sneak around enough to get to this one building in one of the fancier domes. She had us hide at the sides of the door as she went up and knocked on it. An Octoling man answered.

"Hello, Aleck." Valerie greeted him.

"Valerie?" He looked around. "Where's Julia? She's not here, is she?"

"Nope, just me and two others." She told him. "Can we come in?"

"Valerie, what are you doing?" He asked. "There's a lockdown going on now. Julia will be very upset to hear you snuck out."

"What is it's a royal order?" She asked him, signaling us to come out.

Aleck's eyes widened when he saw me and Octavio come out.

"My liege!" He bowed.

"At ease, Alley." Octavio groaned. "We need to hang here for a bit on account that yer sister's nuts."

Aleck seemed startled by that.

"Wait, that's her brother?" I was surprised.

"Julia ain't the only one of Amella's spawn." Octavio told me. "There are four in total. Hopefully, this one ain't got any funny ideas…"

"No, he's a sane one." Julia assured us. "Now, may we enter, sir?"

"O-of course!" He let us in. "Make yourselves at home! Can I get you anything? A drink?"

He immediately put some stuff away and went to the fridge.

"Octo Cola!" Octavio shouted. "For me and the boy."

"Right!" He grabbed two cans from the fridge.

"Do you want one?" I asked Val.

"No thanks." She replied.

We both sat down on his couch. Octavio then…shifted into his Octoling form…he looked old, I guess, not as decrepit as Cuttlefish, though he was wearing a similar tracksuit, only a different color...I could actually see more resemblance to me now…he took a sip of his drink.

"So…question time…" He got straight to it. "What's Julia's deal?"

"Y-yeah." I added. "Why does she want to lead so much? Why did she refer to Octavio's crown as stolen?"

"Oh, Octo…" Aleck put his head in his hands. "I didn't think she'd actually act on that shark…"

"What?" I was curious.

"Okay, see…it's old history relating to your great grandfather, Octavius." He started explaining. "See, he had a brother named Octarin and they didn't get along."

"I know that." Octavio said. "Got so bad one killed the other."

"What?!" I was shocked to hear. "Why?!"

"Well, if you could ask your great grandfather, your great, great grandfather, Octavian, and most people who were there at the time, they'd tell you because Octavius got the crown and Octarin saw it as the last straw. If you asked our great, great grandmother all the way to our mother, they'd tell you he killed him so he could win the crown."

"So, miss Alexia lied." Val guessed.

"I don't know…maybe she was telling the truth, maybe she just refused to accept it." Aleck shrugged.

"Then why ain't you tryin' to splat us?" Octavio wondered.

"There was a point when I wanted to." He admitted. "Our mother raised us all to believe you were a false king. Thing is, the rest of us realized how manipulated and crazy she was…Julia didn't…"

"…Huh…" Was all I could think to say.

"And your just telling us this now because…?" Octavio raised an eyebrow.

"I didn't think she'd actually do something desperate like this." Aleck told him. "I mean, Great, great grandma, great grandma, grandpa, mom, none of them really did anything…"

"Well, now generations of that kind of thinking's come to a climax." Octavio shook his head.

"Like generations of Inkling hatred?" I asked.

"That's different!" He shouted.

"How?!" I wanted an answer.

"My uncle was an idiot and I had nothin' to do with it!" He got up.

"And my friends had nothing to do with the war!" I shouted.

"Calm down, both of you!" Val shouted. "I get it, you have differences, but we need to stick together. We can't get through this if we're at each other's throats."

"Ai'ght…" Octavio agreed, finishing his drink and shifting back to an Octopus. "I don't wanna argue with ma grandson anyhow…"

"Right…" I crossed my arms, looking away.

"Let's just…get everyone situated." Aleck said. "Beds for one. My lord, you can have my bed, I'll sleep on the couch."

"A bed?" Octavio looked at the bedroom. "Hot dog! That beats a snowglobe any day!"

He then rushed into the bedroom.

"You two can share the guest bed…" He told us.

"S-share?!" Val seemed startled.

"Okay." I agreed.


	25. Chapter 25

Chapter 25

 **Tim's POV**

I could definitely do with some sleep. It's been a long day…

I looked around, then to Aleck, who was on the couch.

"I-uh…heard space was an issue in the domes…" I said to him. "Why do you have a whole house?"

"Domes with cities in them are meant for civilians." He explained. "More specifically, ones with families."

"Where's yours?" I wondered.

"My wife's in the hospital." He told me. "She recently gave birth and she needs to stay there for a bit for reasons I won't disclose. The rest of my children have moved out by now."

"You miss them?" I asked.

"Of course." He replied. "Parents would obviously miss their loved ones when they leave."

…Hm…

"…You should get some sleep." He said, probably knowing what I was thinking about.

I nodded my head, walking into the other room. I removed my goggles from my…wait…my goggles! Let me see if I can…yes!

I put them on and made a call.

…Come on…Come on…

"…Tim!" Sarah's voice came in. "I'm so glad you're okay! Where are you?!"

"I'm in one of the domes in uh… an ally's place…" I phrased it in case someone else was listening. "We're going to rest here. It should be fine to spend the night here. You guys should get some rest too…"

"You sure you'll be alright, Tim?" She asked. "What about Octavio?"

"He's here too." I told her. "We're planning on…ugh…gaining control of the hypnotized troops…"

"That's an awful plan." Sarah said. "I mean, that's just using more hypnosis."

"I hate it too," I assured her. "But in terms of getting Julia out of the picture, it may be our best bet…"

"…Well, I'll talk to the others about this…" She told me. "Anything happens, you give us a call."

"Will do." I agreed. "Bye."

"Bye."

We both hung up.

Hm…well, time to sleep…

 **Cuttlefish Cabin…**

Agent 4 just hung up her phone, the others looking at her.

"They're fine, but they're gonna rest a while." She told them. "We should too…"

"I'm not so sure about resting…" Agent 3 said. "I doubt Julia's going to rest…"

"She'll have to." Marie pointed out. "She's had a long day, same as us, and neither side will be in any condition to fight at the moment…"

"Fine…" Agent 3 reluctantly agreed. "But we should probably rest here, sleeping in shifts, and have some people scouting at the least…"

"That works." Callie nodded her head. "I'll grab futons!"

"What about food?" Guyver asked. "I'm hungry…"

"It's been long enough since the last time…" Marie said. "I'll order some Pineapple-free pizza."

The Splatoon and company prepared for a nice rest, another day to battle awaiting them…

 **Octo Canyon HQ…**

As soon as the last of the Elites were respawned, it was time to plan.

"Alright, my forces are attempting to locate the Royals." Julia told the other officer. "Focus on protecting the core domes while we double our efforts."

"If I may make a suggestion…" The Octo Gorge Officer said. "I could lend my forces as to cover more ground."

"Are you assuming my forces aren't good enough?" Julia appeared offended.

"I'm not saying that at all." She assured Julia. "I'm just saying we should be able to find them easier with our troops combining forces."

"Look, I'll focus on finding the Royals, you focus on keeping the Squid brats out of here." Julia ordered her.

"Yes, Commander Julia…" The Officer saluted and walked out.

As soon as she was gone, Julia pulled out a communicator.

"Julia to Gia. I repeat, Julia to Gia." Julia spoke into the device. "Have you found her?"

"Not yet, my Commander." She responded. "We're searching to the best of our abilities though."

"Good…" Julia nodded her head. "Keep looking."

"Yes, my Commander." She replied before Julia turned off the communicator.

Julia then put her head in her hands.

"Oh Octo, Valerie…where are you…?" Julia sighed. "…I hope you're safe…"

 **In the Hallways…**

The Officer walked down the hallway, soon reaching an empty room and quickly entering it. She then pulled out a communicator of her own and turned it on.

"My Commander, Cyan reporting in." She spoke into the communicator.

"Do you have an update for me, Lieutenant?" Commander Sieg asked.

"Julia is acting a bit…off…" She told him. "She's having us protect the core areas as well as block the Splatoon's access to the domes while her forces search for the Royals."

"Why would she need to be searching for the royals?" Octavio asked. "Wouldn't they be coming straight to us if they're no longer in the Splatoon's hands?"

"She's claiming they're stuck in the ink pool outside somewhere…" She explained. "They could be unconscious in the ink somewhere, but some of my soldiers say that many of her soldiers were redeployed to other domes…that doesn't add up…"

"No…it doesn't…" Sieg agreed. "Keep an eye on her as well as her soldiers…based on past experiences with her, I heavily doubt she's telling you the truth…"

"Yes, Commander." She nodded her head. "I'll keep my eye on her and search for any clues to find out what's going on…Cyan out."

They both turned off their communicators. Cyan then returned to her troops with new orders from both commanders.

"Alright, troops…" She spoke to her troops and hers alone. "We're to protect the core areas. While you're doing that, ask around in secret about the Commander and the Royals…I have a feeling we may not be getting the whole story. Is that understood?"

"Yes, Lieutenant!" Her troops saluted.

 **Octo Gorge…**

Sieg leaned back in his chair, tapping his pen on the desk.

" _Julia…"_ He thought to himself. _"Are you searching for the Royals to get them back to their rightful place…or are you searching for them for your own purposes…? Judging from my past experiences with you, as well as knowledge of your family's history, I wouldn't be a fool to guess that this is your attempt to gain power for yourself…no…that's exactly what is happening, isn't it…? Regardless, I'm sure you'll get exactly what you deserve in the end…everything that happens next…you brought upon yourself."_


	26. Chapter 26

**Author's Note: New Follower! Thanks Patricka Parker for your interest in my story and I hope you, my other Followers, and everyone else who reads these continue to enjoy my works!**

Chapter 26

 **Octo Canyon…another POV**

 _ **Your cover got blown?**_

 **Yeah…**

 _ **That's fine, we'll just plan around it. For now, I have a new assignment for you.**_

 **Alright, were do ya need me, boss?**

… _ **Octo Canyon…**_

Okay, cover up there may have been blown, but I have a decent cover here.

"To Dome 8!" The Lieutenant shouted. "Hurry troops!"

I feigned tripping and almost losing my shades.

"You okay, Soldier?" She asked.

"Y-yes, Lieutenant Sophia." I got back up and adjusted the shades. "Just a slight trip."

Your shades aren't damaged, are they?" She wanted to check.

"No, Lieutenant." I replied. "Nearly fell off, but they're fine.

"What's your name, soldier?" She seemed to think I wasn't a threat.

"Eileen." I replied. "Combat Engineering Division 32."

"Right, right." She nodded, convinced. "Just go with the others."

I nodded and followed the others.

Welp…time to do what I do best…

 **Later…**

Hm…so far, all I've done was search the streets and occasionally knock on the door and ask questions…not to mention there are guards at every dome exit…something fishy is definitely going on…as soon as I got some alone-time, I pulled out my communicator.

"Hey, Lieutenant." I called in. "You listening? It's me, Eye."

"Please use your codename…" I heard her sigh. "What did you find?"

"Okay, so we were searching for the royals, you know?" I started. "Well, there are a few weird things about that…"

"Like what?" She asked.

"Well, for starters, we're patrolling domes, not the ink outside they fell in." I told her. "We're also going house-to-house, asking if anyone's seen anyone with visual descriptors for the royals without directly asking them, and there are also guards around dome entrances."

"She doesn't want anyone to leave…" She figured. "Alright, find out anything more. Check security footage, ask around, anything."

"Alrighty." I nodded my head. "Eye in the sky out."

I hung up.

Now…time to search for more clues…

 **Later…**

With these goggles, the uniform is complete. Hopefully sleepyhead doesn't wake up at a bad time…I'm already risking a lot and it'd really suck if we were somehow wrong about this…

I walked into the security room towards _my_ desk.

"Lieutenant." An Octarian saluted me. "Unexpected arrival…"

"At ease." I replied, sitting at the desk. "I was told to check some camera feed."

The Octarian left me alone to do my work. Alright, checking footage near the Central when Julia claimed to have lost track of him…

Aaaand…there he is…heh…that little guy…who's he running into…wait, is that…?

Hm…I know who to ask next…

I'll just check a few more things first while I still have the security feed…

 **Even Later…Medical Bay…**

I knocked on the door. Soon, an Octoling doctor came.

"Sorry, but there's a lockdown…oh, what is it, Miss soldier?" Gracie asked.

"You're under arrest." I told her, causing her to become panicked.

"W-why?!" She asked. "Under what grounds?!"

"Grounds of having the prince and not turning him in, mad science experiments," I listed. "And not being as pretty as Elise."

"I swear, I'm not-wait…" She looked at me, suspicious. "Who are you…?"

I then shifted back as I stepped in.

"Yo." I waved.

"Y-you're Elise's toady!" She shouted. "Get out of my office!"

"Hey, hey, no need to be hostile." I assured her. "I'm just looking for answers. You had Tim with you, right? The royal's name?"

"She narrowed her eyes before sighing.

"I did." She admitted, knowing I wouldn't rat her out. "He came here briefly and I let him go on his way."

"And did he say anything about why he was roaming the hallways?" I asked.

"I can answer that…" A male Octoling in the room answered. "He told us himself."

"Well, share it then." I told him. "Come on, one science experiment to another."

"He said Julia had tried to kill him." He told me. "C-1 and I escorted him to the elevator to the top level."

"Have you seen my mama?" The small Octotrooper asked.

"…When Cass returned to the Gorge, she was missing most of one of her tentacles." I remembered. "Was-uh…?"

"Yeah, that's the one…" Gracie nodded her head.

"Cool." I said. "She's from the Gorge, so you should get yourself transferred there if you wanna see her."

He then got a big smile on his face.

"So, what's going on?" Gracie asked.

"Well…" How to put this? "Considering security footage of him running through the hallways, terrified, Julia's method of finding the royals implying they're hiding from her, and him telling you Julia tried to kill him…we're going to have to take her out, probably…so, lock yourself inside because I'm pretty sure there'll be some fighting…"

"…Okay then…" Gracie took note of that. "Now, what are you going to do?"

"Well, I have enough security footage to show Tim was clearly running away from Julia." I told them, leaning against the wall. "That, your testimony of his words, and soon, getting him, and I'd say we have enough evidence to justify what we're going to do next…"

She looked at the two others, then to me.

"…And that is…?"

 **Octo Canyon Central Dome…**

"And you're certain?" Cyan asked.

"Absotively-Posilutely." Eye confirmed.

"Well then…the Commander's suspicions are confirmed…" She remarked. "Alright, get out of there, it might get loud…"

She then hung up started a message for all of her troops.

"Attention troops, attention." She said into the communicator. "Julia has betrayed our Empire and attempted an assassination on a Royal. She is to be captured at all costs. If fired upon, prepare to splat any and all of her troops if you come across and secure the respawn points so we may subdue them. Lieutenant out."

She sent out her message and signaled her squad to follow her. They speedily walked down to Julia's office, where she was sitting at her desk, surrounded by guards.

"Find the Royals yet?" Cyan asked.

"No, not yet." Julia sighed.

"Good…"

Julia looked up as Cyan and her squad raised their weapons at her, her own guards raising their weapons in response.

"Julia Octavian Traeger," Cyan aimed her weapon at the Commander. "You are under arrest for Treason. You can either come quietly or this'll get messy. Your choice…"

* * *

 **Update: I may be posting at a slower rate in the coming weeks. I've been hitting a bit of a slump in my writing as of late and it ended with barely having written anything lately. This'll probably result in it taking longer than a week to have a chapter published, but I'll still try to not keep you all waiting too long. I hope it all goes well and I hope that you all have a great weekend!**


	27. Chapter 27

Chapter 27

 **Central Castle…**

"Under arrest for treason?" Julia looked surprised. "There's no evidence!"

"We have footage of the Prince making an effort to avoid you, your troops are searching domes for the Royals in a way that suggests they're hiding from you, and people who have been in contact with the Prince say you tried to kill him. All we need is to get the royals to hear their testimony."

Julia couldn't believe this. How could they have found this out? She cursed herself, thinking it was a mistake to get Sieg's assistance.

"…Open fire!" Julia commanded and her guards immediately complied.

As the Gorge troops fired back, Julia jumped down through her desk's trap door.

"All troops, Octo Gorge is now your enemy." She spoke into her communicator. "Attack them with extreme prejudice!"

She ran soon after getting to the bottom.

"Carp!" She cursed herself. "They figured you out! Why couldn't you just calm yourself?! How could you lose control like that?!

She started hyperventilating.

"I…maybe I can…no…he'd probably have told the other settlements…" She figured. "What do I do…? I…I can't stay here…Carp! My birthright is lost to me…but I will survive…wait...actually, I…can still come out on top…"

 **Octo Canyon…Some Time Later…**

Three Inklings and an Octoling were observing the enemy from a distance.

"Woah…" Agent 8 saw something in her binoculars. "There's some fighting going on…"

3.5 took the binoculars for a look. Indeed, there was ink flying. It was hard for them to tell who exactly was fighting, but it was big.

"What's going on?" Sylvia asked the conversing cephalopods, having just come back from scouting in another spot.

"Apparently fights are breaking out." Agent 3 told her. "Between whom, we have no idea, but I'm more than willing to find out. Wanna come along?"

"Why do you keep asking me that?" Sylvia asked, annoyed.

"I'm just making sure you're up for it." Three assured her

"I already helped in that castle assault." Sylvia reminded her. "This soldier can handle a little scouting."

"Alright then," Three nodded with a smirk. "Come on then…"

Agent 3 took point and the others followed behind her.

 **Elsewhere…**

Tim woke up to a loud sound and rushed to the living room window to look out. It seemed that there was fighting in the dome.

"Mmmm…hm?" Aleck had just woken up as well. "What's going on?"

"I think someone's fighting outside." Tim told him.

He then went to the window and looked outside. Neither of them could make out who was fighting, but it was definitely big.

"What's that racket?!" Octavio shouted as he and Val came out as well.

"My lord, there seems to be a fight going on." Aleck told him. "It could be the Splatoon."

"Wait, if it's my friends, then we have to go see them!" Tim bolted for the door, but Octavio stopped him.

"Oh, no you don't!" He shouted. "I ain't letting you go towards whatever's going on there!"

"Let me go to my friends!" Tim shouted.

"How about waitin' for the fight to die down before we try anything?" Octavio suggested.

"I actually agree with him." Val said. "It could be dangerous and we don't have any gear on us."

"I…yeah, I guess that's a good idea…" Tim admitted. "I'll just call them through my goggles…"

"You do that…" Octavio said, not caring all that much.

I went into the room and put my goggles on, calling Sarah.

It rang for a bit before he got an answer.

"Hey, Tim." Sarah answered. "What's up?"

"You guys in the domes somewhere?" He asked.

"I mean…Three, Eight, and Sylvia went to scout around, but most of us are here, resting." She told him. "Why do you ask?"

"Because there's fighting not far from where I am." He told her. "Is that them?"

"Uh…let me check with the others…" She told him, coming back around a minute later. "Yeah, no, just scouting, but apparently there's fighting going on and they're taking a look."

"Oh, okay…thanks Sarah." Tim nodded his head. "I'll see you later."

"Bye Tim, stay safe." She replied before they both hung up.

Tim walked back to the living room.

"Well?" Octavio asked.

"It's not the Splatoon." Tim told him. "It's someone else."

"So, if it ain't the Splatoon, then who is it?" Octavio wondered.

"Maybe people found out about what Julia did?" I guessed. "And they're fighting to take her down?"

"That's definitely a possibility…" Octavio agreed. "If so, then all we've got to worry 'bout is making sure Julia don't get out."

"How?" I wondered.

"Well, by making sure all of her ways of leaving are gonzo!" Octavio laughed. "Alrighty, now that she's on the run, we can make sur she ain't got nowhere to run to!"

"Aaaand now do we do that?" Aleck asked. "I've had my six months of training, but I'm no soldier."

"You can stay here." Octavio told him. "I mean, I'm me, boy's done those Ink battles in Inkopolis, and Val's trained under Julia. We'll be fine."

If you say so…" Aleck shrugged. "Well, just be careful, my liege. Anything could happen…"

"Right…" Octavio nodded his head as he led the two out. "Alright, so we're gonna check to see if they are fighting each other, figure out which side is ours, and use our allies to get to the Octobot king! We'll use the beats on that to get the Hypnotized troops to stand down, and take out Julia, returning to the Capital as heroes!"

"Sounds like a plan." Val agreed.

"Yeah, that works, I guess." I agreed. "Completely egotistical at the end, but it works…"

"Pssh, ya gotta have style, dog." Octavio told him. "Come on, kid. I'll let ya drive the Octobot king…"

"Do…are you serious?" Tim groaned. "You can drive it. I don't really want to…"

"…Eh, why not?" Octavio shrugged. "That just means I'll be the hero of this adventure."

"Because that's what this is all about…" Tim rolled his eyes.

Octavio's eyes widened, then he turned to his grandson.

"…What're you implying?" Octavio turned to him, scowling.

"I'm implying that you just want to make yourself look good…" Tim said. "Anything can happen, since it's all about you. You only care about yourself."

"Bold statement from you…" Octavio replied. "Considering I marked you as my heir, tried taking you and yo mama to see the rest of yer family, and gave ya a headstart on the future."

"Headstart?" Tim was confused. "What do you mean?"

"I mean that CD I gave ya!" Octavio clarified. "So far, that's my greatest hit! It'll be the best hit with Inklings…"

Tim then pulled his birthday CD out of his pocket, wide-eyed in realization as Valerie was a bit confused.

"This…is brainwashing music, isn't it?" He asked.

"I'm lookin' out for ya." Octavio told him. "I got it to makin' them puppets, but you. You can remix that jazz to make them give up without a fight! I believe in ya, Junior Jr."

"Um…" Val tried interrupting, but to no avail.

"I should break this!" Tim shouted as he prepared to do so.

"Wait, stop!" Octavio freaked out. "Don't break that!"

"Why shouldn't I?!" Tim wondered. "I'm never playing this!"

"Well, at least keep it somewhere then." Octavio practically begged.

"Why?" Tim wanted an answer.

Octavio sighed, then looked him in the eye.

"Look…I can see you take after your daddy…" Octavio said. "Ya've got big hearts, yer enthusiastic, and you ain't afraid to give me harsh criticism. But yer daddy…he wasn't really well-prepared for those Inklings…that there, is insurance. You get into a situation like that, play it, then run."

Tim looked at the disc. After a few seconds of pondering, he huffed and shoved it in his pocket.

"If you'll stop begging, fine." He started walking past Octavio, only to be stopped by the King grabbing him.

"Kid…I…it ain't all about me…" He told his grandson. "Look, I'mma be real with you…I'm King. I try to help my people. I really do. You may not like my methods. I screwed up more times than I care to say, and I'm willing to admit I've got an ego and can get carried away sometimes, but don't you ever think that I never think about 'em."

Tim wasn't sure what to say.

"I'm well aware most don't like me, boy." Octavio continued. "When I was yer age, I was seen as an unenthusiastic prince, probably not fit for the job. Nowadays, I know I'll probably be remembered as that incompetent king who got his people shoved underground and brainwashed 'em. You on the other hand? I'm tryin' to give ya a chance to do better. Just…keep what I have to say in-mind…okay? I want you to do well in life…what I feel is best for ya…I'm sorry it turned out this way…guess it's just another one of my screw ups…"

Tim paused for a few seconds.

"…Let's…let's get to the Octobot King, okay?" Tim asked.

"Yeah!" Val agreed.

"A'ight." Octavio agreed.

Tim and Val immediately started running, Octavio actually being left behind for a few seconds.

"H-hey, wait up!" The King shouted as he went after them.

"Come on, gramps!" Tim shouted to him. "We've gotta get there quickly!"

"I kno-wait…what'd you call me?" Octavio almost stopped.

Tim didn't answer as he and Val kept running with Octavio attempting to catch up.


	28. Chapter 28

Chapter 28

 **Cuttlefish Cabin…**

"Cuttlefish Cabin, this is Agent 3." The radio played. "Please come in, cuttlefish Cabin."

Marie quickly grabbed the communicator.

"This is Agent 2, what's the sitch?" She asked.

"Situation's changed, Agent 2." Three said. "The Octarians are fighting each other?"

"What?" Callie chimed in, confused. "Why?"

"Not sure, but it looks like those Gorge reinforcements are fighting Julia's hypnotized troops." Agent 3 informed the others. "We're trying to figure out what's going on. You should probably get the others up. It could get loud…er…"

"Right." Marie nodded her head. "Alright, we will. Agent 2, out."

She hung up and walked over to wake up the others, starting with using her foot to nudge Otis, who woke with a groan. Callie and Marie woke all of the agents up, and then Marie went for Toxic Mist, who still had their masks on even in their sleep. She was just about to wake up One when he got up on his own and woke the others up. Whether he woke up on his own or he'd already been awake, Marie was left to wonder. As soon as everyone was up and at 'em, the two agents stood in front of them next to the cabin.

"Alright Agents, we've got another situation." Marie told them. "So, it seems the Octarians are fighting each other. We're guessing it could be that Octo Gorge found out what Julia's been up to. Time to do our thing."

Everyone nodded and got ready to move out, rushing towards the domes, leaving the recovering Sarah behind with Guyver by her side.

 **Elsewhere, Octo Canyon…**

Valerie peered around the corner at the nearby soldiers. They didn't have shades on, in fact, they weren't wearing the Neo set, but the one from Octo Gorge.

"I'm going to walk forward, guys." She told them. "Anything happens to me, you two run."

Tim was about to object when Octavio covered his mouth and nodded. Valerie then slowly approached the soldiers as Octavio held onto Tim as they hid around the corner.

"H-hello?" Valerie called out to the soldiers. "What's going on?"

"Stay inside, civilian." One of the soldiers told her. "We're hunting down a traitor to our empire."

"Julia?" She guessed.

The soldiers looked at each other.

"That is…correct…" Another soldier confirmed. "How do you-"

"Because she tried to kill a prince?" She interrupted. "Because she's trying to grab power for herself?"

"How…do you know that…?" One of the soldiers asked, confused.

"Who are you loyal to?" She asked.

"We are soldiers loyal to Octo Gorge." The soldier replied. "However, our ultimate loyalty is always to the monarchy and its people."

"…Come out!" She told the others, who obliged.

"My liege!" One soldier called out before they all knelt in front of Octavio.

"At ease." Octavio said, rolling his eyes slightly. "A'ight troops, so ya found Julia out?"

"Yes sir." One soldier answered. "We've discovered her treachery and are now in hot pursuit."

"Good." He nodded. "Now, follow me. We've gotta get to the Octobot King."

"It's heavily guarded, sir." One soldier warned. "Julia probably knows that's a target."

"Of course she does…" Octavio figured. "Alright, radio in to focus your efforts on getting the Octobot King. I play ma beats there, and we can take control of the shaded troops."

"What about Julia?" I asked.

"Julia's time's up." Octavio told him. "She blew it the moment she tried to kill ya. Her only options are stay and hope she somehow wins, or escape. Either way, she's not gonna be around here much longer…so, ya got the hangars so she can't do the latter option?"

"Of course, sir." One soldier nodded. "The last thing we want is for her to escape."

"But she's still got my ride in her hands." Octavio pointed out. "Meaning if you don't want a chance of her escaping, we need to secure it, and fast."

"Yes, sir!" One of the soldiers saluted, then started radioing in the news and orders.

A few minutes later, the Soldier returned to the others.

"Alright, sir." The soldier walked to Octavio. "We will lead you to the Octobot King."

"A'ight!" Octavio got pumped.

"Sir?" One soldier got his attention. "What should we do if the Splatoon interferes?"

Everyone looked at him, wondering what he'd say.

"…Let 'em through." Octavio said, surprising everyone. "We'll need as much Cephalo-power as possible. As much as I hate to admit it, those punks got skills…skills we can use to our advantage in the current situation…"

They were all stunned to hear him say that.

"Are…you sure, sir?" One soldier asked to make sure.

"You doubting me?" The King asked the soldier. "I'm telling ya, I'm sure! We hate Julia and so do they. We both want her to go down. Join forces for now, splat 'em later."

"Gramps!" Tim shouted, glaring at him.

"…Aaagh, fine…just…leave em' alone." Octavio caved like a huge softie. "Hopefully good things'll come from this…"

"I…hope you know what you're doing, sir…" The soldier replied, about to radio that message in.

"Yeah, me too…" Octavio replied, not happy with the decision, but sticking to it. "Alright, radio it in, then let's go!"

"Yes, sir!" The soldier nodded before radioing in the message.

"A'ight, if that's everything, let's get a move on already!" Octavio said, tired of the stalling.

The soldiers nodded and led the way, Octavio, Tim, and Valerie following.

 **Cuttlefish Cabin…**

Three cephalopods stayed behind at the cabin, an injured squid, her comforting roommate, and a pop star on her laptop.

"Aaaaagh, this sucks!" Sarah whined. "Tim's down there and we're stuck here…"

"Well, you're injured and I'm looking after you." Guyver reminded her. "I know it sucks, but there's nothing we can do."

"We can still do something, right?" Sarah asked, managing to sit up. "I mean, it wouldn't be the first time I got back into the field after getting injured by Cass."

"True, but from what I was told, context was a little different." Marina on her laptop replied. "Also, you did agree to stay behind until you healed."

"Yeah…" Sarah nodded her head. "But there has to be something…"

"Well, if we need to call in the cavalry, nothing beats a ride in Sheldon's sweet hover truck!" Marina told her. "He may run his mouth, but he can run some good tech when he needs to."

"I run my mouth?" Said hover truck owner asked, seemingly out of nowhere.

"S-Sheldon?!" Marina gasped. "When did you get here?"

"I got here a few minutes ago to perform maintenance on the Enhancifier…" Sheldon told her. "I was eating a bagel, so I didn't say hi, but you didn't notice me?"

"I-I'm going to just…check the situation in the Canyon…" Marina said, trying to change the subject. "Now, where's Julia…Ha! Found her! Wait…is…is she heading to the Octobot King?"


	29. Chapter 29

Chapter 29

 **25 Minutes Later…Octo Canyon Domes…Tim's POV**

It's been a bit of battling since we left with the troops…well…for the others, mostly…they gave us weapons, but I haven't really fired mine…Grandpa Octavio didn't either, but because they didn't give him one. Some sense that the King shouldn't have to resort to boots-on-the-ground combat or something…

The soldiers and Valerie managed to splat their way into the Boss dome…wow…she's pretty good at combat…

"How'd you get so good at fighting?" I asked Val after she splatted two of Julia's troops.

"Huh…oh, we're all trained from the moment we gain our full forms." She told me. "I've also received private training from…Julia."

Oh…well…makes sense Julia would train her given how much she seems to like her…

It wasn't too much longer until we neared the boss dome.

Welp, this is it…time to end this…

 **Elsewhere…New Squidbeak Splatoon Scouting Team**

Agent 3 led her group through the domes, trying to find out what exactly was going on. Their efforts were eventually met with Ink shots. Agent 3 was starting to get tired of the situation herself until the enemies soon got splatted. The group was confused until they were met by a team of Octo Gorge elites.

"Squidbeak Splatoon." One called out. "We're not here to fight you; we're here for a temporary truce."

"Wait, what?" Agent 8 was the first to speak, surprised and confused to hear what was said.

"We have a common enemy, agents." The soldier told them. "The traitor Julia needs to be brought to justice, and you agents are, admittedly, fairly proficient at fighting. So the King has called for a temporary ceasefire to quell this insurrection."

"You found Octavio?" 3.5 was surprised to hear. "Where is he?"

"We will escort you to where he is…" The soldier responded. "So long as you cooperate with us."

The agents and Sylvia looked at each other.

"…How do we know this isn't a trap?" Sylvia asked, unconvinced. "Are we supposed to take your word for it?"

"The fact that we aren't splatting you right now isn't enough proof?" Another soldier asked, confused. "We're trying to take down someone who attacked members of the Royal family. One of those members claims to be the friend of at least a few of you. Our goals to protect the Royal in question intersect. Now, will you let us lead you to them?"

The Agents went into a huddle to debate the idea of going with them. After a couple minutes, they broke the huddle.

"Okay, we've decided we'll go with you." Agent 3 told the soldiers. "But if this is a trap, you'll regret it…"

"I assure you this isn't a trap." A soldier assured her. "Now, follow us."

The soldiers started walking and urged the agents to follow. The agents, albeit reluctant and still suspicious, followed after them.

"Agent 3 to Splatoon; come in, Splatoon." Agent 3 called into her headset.

"Agent 1 here!" The agent on the other line picked up. "What's up?"

"What's up is that some Octo Gorge soldiers apparently want to help us take down Julia." Agent 3 told her. "We're following them for now, though I'm not entirely sure if it's a trap or not…"

"We'll follow your signal, Be-er…Three!" Agent 2 told her. "We've got your back! Agent 1 out!"

They both hung up.

" _Alright, then…"_ Three thought. _"Assuming this isn't a trap, watch out, Julia. The cavalry's coming."_

 **Cephalon HQ Boss Kettle…**

It wasn't too much longer before the Octarian special forces transporting Tim, Octavio, and Val got to the dome carrying the Octobot King. The three could feel something was off. There were enemy forces there, but it was a fairly small force compared to what they expected.

"…Something's not right here…" One soldier said.

"Obviously…" Octavio said. "Julia ain't here and force was way too small for a last stand…"

"Think this is a trap?" I asked.

"Don't think the question is if as much as what kind…" He replied, making sure they kept their distance.

Three troops walked over to the Octobot King, looking around it to make sure it wasn't booby-trapped.

"It appears to be safe…" One trooper said.

Unfortunately, that soldier was proven wrong when the Octobot King suddenly activated and started rising up.

"Aw, splat…" Octavio sighed as the Octobot King initiated battle mode and started shooting its fists at the nearby soldiers.

"I don't see a pilot!" Val shouted.

"Probably remote controlled or something." Tim guessed. "Sort of like what Octavio did that brought me here."

The troops were about to fire at the machine when one of the officers stopped them.

"We can't risk destroying it!" The officer told them. "We need to get it under control somehow."

"Where's Julia?" Octavio asked, looking around. "She can't be far."

"That's what the Splatoon is for…" One officer said, smirking.

 **Overhead…**

Julia could hear the chaos unfold, a confident smile on her face. "Alright, so how long until they're all splatted?"

"Shouldn't be long." A soldier told her. "Should we focus our efforts on the Splatoon?"

"Definitely." Julia nodded. "Also, tell Beta team to double their efforts on finding Valerie. It's been hours and no sign of her…"

"…Mistress Julia…" The soldier looked towards the unfolding chaos. "I…think we've found her…"

"Where?" She looked to the soldier and her eyes widened when she saw her pointing downwards to the arena.

"No…no, no, no…" She looked down and saw her protégé in the fight. "We have to do something!"

"Like what?" The soldier was confused.

"…Let the Splatoon in…" She ordered, hatching a plan. "I have an idea…"

* * *

 **Author's Note: I liiiiiiiive! Sorry about the wait. I have been having a large amount of writer's block as well as a heavy dose of procrastination lately. Final Splatfest didn't help either, will probably have to write that in somewhere...well, regardless, I hope you all liked this chapter and hopefully the next will be out soon! Until then, Stay Fresh!**


	30. Chapter 30

**Update: New Follower! Thanks Melral CT-3718 for your interest in the story and I hope you, my other followers, and everyone else who reads this continues to enjoy my works! Honestly, it's good to know I can still get followers during my current slump in writing.**

Chapter 30

 **Octo Canyon…**

The chaos ensued as the Octobot King continued its attack. No one could get in due to the cockpit's shields being up, nor could they fire at it too much at risk of destroying it. Suddenly, just as soon as it started, the Octobot King had stopped attacking.

"What's…going on…?" One soldier asked.

"No idea…" Another shrugged.

All of a sudden, the loudspeakers turned on.

"Attention, petty soldiers." Julia's voice came through. "This is Julia, Commander of Octo Canyon. You clearly can't do anything to the Octobot King, but I am not without mercy."

"Bullshark…" Octavio said, somehow crossing his arms more than he was already.

"I will spare most of you…if Valerie is returned." She said.

The two royals looked at Valerie, who wasn't at all surprised Julia would stop the fighting for her.

"You're willing to stop for me?" Valerie asked.

"Of course…" Julia replied. "I'll make sure you're safe."

Valerie looked to the others and sighed. "…Alright…but you have to give me your word."

"…I will…" Julie agreed.

"Good!" Julie's voice sounded elated. "Just walk over to the Octobot King."

She looked to the others and to Tim, who gave her a reassuring nod. She took a deep breath and walked over to the Octobot King. It lowered one of its hands down and she stepped on it. It lifted her into an opening near the top of the dome that closed after she entered. She would see Julia waiting for her upon entry.

"Finally!" Julia pulled her into a hug. "Don't you ever scare me like that again."

"Right…" Valerie sighed.

"Alright, now that you're back, we can leave." Julia told her.

"Leave?" Valerie was confused. "Leave where?"

"The Splatoon's coming, sweetie." Julia told her, petting her head a bit. "That along with Sieg's forces, we don't stand a chance here. I'm willing to admit I messed up and I'll be executed for it, so we simply can't stay here. So, we're leaving right now."

"Where are we going?" Valerie was more confused. "Where would we go?"

"Simple." Julia smiled. "Inkopolis."

"Why…there?!" She was shocked Julia would even suggest it.

"Simple." Julia finally let go of her. "No executions if we flee."

"But won't the Splatoon track us down?" Valerie asked.

"Val, sweetheart." She patted her head. "I had my remaining forces boobytrap some of the nearby domes. Once they enter, I'll detonate the explosives and they'll be buried and forgotten."

"Which…domes…?" Valerie was almost hesitant to know.

"Nearby ones, including the one I just took you out of." Julia was honest with her.

"What?!" She freaked out when hearing that. "B-but you promised!"

"Valerie, I'm going to Inkopolis to present a case to the Inklings." She tried calming Valerie down. "I'm going to give them lip service so that we can still come out on top."

"…And kill people who will call out your story…?" Valerie guessed.

"Val, you're missing the bigger picture…" She sighed. "I tell the Inkling higher-ups a grand story about how we were hunted by the royal family and how we were only trying to help our people. They're sure to offer us protection. Possibly even a spot at the table as representatives of our society."

"But won't the Octo Gorge forces dispute your claims?" Valerie asked.

"I can find ways of getting him to back down." Julia waved it off, pulling her along. "Now, come on. We should get to the saucer."

"But-"

"No buts!" Julia interrupted. "Come on."

She pulled Valerie to a nearby flying saucer where a squad of troops was waiting. One walked over to her, handing her a case.

"Everything's ready, Miss Julia." She told her. "All that's needed is to pull the trigger."

"Very good." Julia took it. "Have my personal squad board and I'll be off."

"Yes, Commander." The soldier saluted and was off.

"Are you…leaving her?" Valerie asked.

"She's just a delivery girl." Julia shrugged. "She's replaceable."

Suddenly, without warning, Valerie snatched the case and ran in the other direction.

"Hey, get back here!" Julia shouted as she ran after her, signaling nearby soldiers to do the same.

Valerie ran as fast as she could while troops gave chase. Some troops attempted to fire at her, but Julia ordered them to hold their fire. She soon found an opening and dove through, landing in the next dome over. It was a city dome. She ran through the streets, turning every corner I an attempt to lose them.

It seemed to work…until she saw Superjumping Octopuses flying through the air towards her. They landed all around her and had their weapons raised at her. They were just about to close in when some started getting splatted.

Turning her head, she could see Gorge troops firing at them along with some Inklings. She quickly rushed to the side to avoid the fire. Most were finished off by a Splashdown from above while the rest were splatted by the agents. She just barely peeked out when a green squid aimed a Heroshot at her.

"Aaaand who might you be?" The agent asked.

"V-Valerie…" The Octoling answered. "You're Splatoon, right?"

"Yup." She agent nodded.

"Oh, thank Octo…" Valerie sighed. "I have something you need to keep safe…"

She handed the case to the confused Inkling. "This…can't be opened…"

"Why?" The squid asked.

"Because in here is a trigger that'll destroy the nearby domes…" She told her. "Julia's willing to bury hundreds just to get you all…"

"If it's so important…where is she…?" The agent asked as she looked around.

"Maybe she's waiting for the right moment to attack…" Valerie guessed.

"Hm…either way, you should come with us…" The agent said, helping her up. "Just in case…"

Valerie nodded and went with the agent and her group.


	31. Chapter 31

Chapter 31

 **Cephalon HQ Boss Kettle…**

It was only a few minutes later when a team was cutting through one of the entrances to the dome.

"Finally!" Octavio huffed. "Y'all know I don't like to be kept waiting!"

"I'm surprised we were kept waiting…" Tim shrugged. "Julia must be planning something else."

"Right…" Octavio nodded and returned to the soldiers cutting through the entrance. "Any of you find her?"

"No, sir." One soldier shook his head.

"Hmph…" Octavio looked around. "Why didn't she try putting the Octobot King back on?

He, Tim, and a few others looked at the machine, wondering the same thing.

Soon enough, the door was open and the troops and agents escorted them out.

"Tim!" Valerie rushed over. "Are you okay?"

"Y-yeah…" He nodded. "We've just been waiting here for a while…"

"Tim!" Sylvia then rushed over to hug him. "Don't you worry your comrade ever again!"

"Heh…I won't." He chuckled.

"Come on, sir!" One soldier said to Octavio. "She booby-trapped several domes."

"Than what are we waiting for?!" Octavio grabbed Tim and shoved his way through. "We gotta move!"

The agents and troops nodded before moving, it not being long before they were under attack again. The agents and troops were the first to form a line of fire against them.

"The shell?!" Agent 3 couldn't believe it. "Where is she getting all these troops?"

"I'm receiving messages from multiple squads!" One of the Gorge troops called out. "They say Julia's troops are retreating."

"Not retreating…" Agent 8 realized. "She's just throwing everything she has left at us!"

3.5 smirked. "Just means this'll be over soon…"

They kept fighting, the king and company kept a bit behind, though Octavio kept his eyes peeled in case Julia was around. Tim had been given a spare Octoshot just in case he needed it while Valerie kept a firm grip on the case.

"Octoseekers!" One trooper pointed out as five appeared over the horizon.

Suddenly, before anyone could react, their propellers stopped spinning as they came crashing to the down. Everyone scrambled to get out of the way as they collided with the ground and nearby buildings, knocking them over. Octavio grabbed Tim as he scrambled away.

As Valerie scrambled out of the way, a figure appeared in the smoke and snatched the case from her, opening it up and removing the detonator. She knew who the figure was and tackled her to the ground.

"Julia, stop!" She shouted. "Just give up!"

Tim could hear the shouting. He quickly shook Octavio off and bolted over, readying his Octoshot.

Julia easily knocked Valerie off. "As if I'd let an inexperienced child who has a miniscule connection to his people sit on the thro-"

She got cut off by Tim's shots knocking her over. She scrambled to get away as the shots kept hitting her before she finally fell down.

"You could've changed, Julia…" Tim shook his head as he walked over. "You could've just let it go…"

She then spun around to face him, a scowl on her face and her thumb on the detonator. "…I'd rather die…"

 ***Beep***

…

…

…

Moving a rock out of the way, Tim coughed as he got up, rubble all around him. The ceiling didn't entirely collapse, large chunks being held up by the buildings, though groundwater seeping in. He looked around the ruined city for anyone else. He could see a few of the others; a couple soldiers and the purple agent holding his leg in pain while calling for his teammates. Sylia was nearby, her helmet stuck over her head, seemingly from a falling ruck having pushed it down. There were also a couple random Octoling civilians and minor Octarians trying to regain their footing while others were scrambling to get out of the dome.

Tim grabbed the Octoshot and limped around, looking for Valerie and Octavio. It didn't take long to find Valerie as she was only a few yards from where he was. She was on the ground and holding her arm in pain, but was otherwise okay. He patted her head and told her to rest. She then pointed in the direction they came from and he understood. He retraced his steps to where he last saw the old king.

Sure enough, he could see him lying on the ground, a figure shambling towards him. He could just make out the figure as a badly damaged Julia. She had a shiny object in her hand and was raising it in the air.

Tim quickly aimed his Octoshot and fired, one hit causing Julia to drop the object and fall to her side, shivering. He quickly limped over.

"G-gramps!" He shouted as he got to the old octopus. "A-are you okay?"

He coughed a bit and looked at him. "Yeah…a bit worse for the wear, but Craig did me worse than this…"

"Oh, thank Octo…" He put an arm over him.

"Ow…" Octavio winced slightly at the half hug.

 **Soon after…**

It didn't take long for the agents and other troops to make their way into the broken domes, the Agents soon hurrying to gather the injured. The agents looked for their members first while the soldiers looked to help other Octarians out of the dome.

"Oh, my Cod!" Callie and Otis hurried to help Arnold up as Sylvia finally got her helmet back to where its normal position.

Marie pointed the Toxic Mist members to an unconscious Agent 3. "Six and Seven, get her out of here. Nine and 3.5, find Agent 8. One and Sylvia, you're with me. One and Sylvia both nodded and followed her as she went to find the Royals.

They soon found them surrounded by troops; both sides soon aiming weapons at each other.

"We're taking our leader back." The Octoling soldier told the agents.

"We're not letting him steal the Zapfish again." Marie replied. "He's coming with us."

"Oh, brother…" Octavio groaned. "Ya know what? I'mma let you two argue this. I'm too tired…"

"You can't keep stealing our leaders." Another soldier said.

"We just want to keep him here until he cools down." Marie told him. "Sorry if it'll be a while."

"You little-" One soldier hissed before getting a call on her headset. "Yes…? C-Commander? What are you…you can't be…fine…" She turned back to the Agents. "Fine…you can take them…we'll deal with Julia…"

The soldiers picked up Julia and cuffed her as the Agents came over to Tim and Octavio.

"Just make sure the heir stays safe." One soldier said before they started taking her away.

"Oh yes, the heir!" Julia laughed. "The one who no one knows, never lived with his own people, and is going to ditch them to live with the squids! Great choice!"

She then got a smack to the face and shoved off.

"Okay…let's get to the Cabin, okay?" Marie asked.

"Sure." Tim nodded and they headed off.

* * *

 **Author's note: Another chapter out, finally. I'm so sorry about the wait. It's like I have an idea of how the story should play out, but have trouble putting it to paper (so to speak). I think I wrote more on Tuesday than the past two weeks combined…hopefully this is a sign I'm coming out of my rut and will soon be back to a semi-regular schedule. Ever in a rut, try listening to music. It might just work.**


	32. Chapter 32

Chapter 32

 **Cuttlefish Cabin…**

Almost everyone had returned to the cabin, the royals in one corner, the tournament team talking next to the enhancifier, and the agents a conversing by the cabin.

"…I don't get it…where's Eight?" Marie asked everyone.

"We think she may have gotten mixed in with the Octarian civilians." Otis said. "We'll find her. It'll just take a bit…"

"Right…" Marie sighed, looking at an unconscious Agent 3.

"I'm just glad everyone's okay…for the most part…" Sarah said.

"I'll keep eyes on the Canyon to see if I can find her." Marina said. "I'm sure I'll find her on the footage soon."

"Hopefully…" Guyver sighed.

The agents, tournament team, and royals spent a good amount of time patching themselves up. Soon enough, people came out of the manhole to Inkopolis; the Cap'n and an older Octoling woman.

"Grandpa!" Callie went to hug him and tell him what happened with Marie following behind.

"Tim?!" Amphia looked towards him.

"Mom…?" Tim's eyes widened.

She then ran over to embrace him. Tim tightly hugged her back, tears in both of their eyes.

"Aaaawww…" Callie smiled.

"I thought I'd never see you again…" Amphia said.

"Heh…same…" Tim replied. "I'm…sorry I yelled at you…"

"It's okay…" She assured him. "I shouldn't have tried to keep you coddle you so much…you're getting older…I may not like it, but there's nothing I can do about it…still haven't forgiven you though…" She said, glaring at Octavio.

"Ugh…" Octavio groaned, expecting that reaction. "I'm sorry, okay? I figured Junior would want him to be heir…"

"He wants to be a musician, not a ruler." Amphia told him.

"So did I." Octavio replied. "I think I've more than proven he can be both."

"You brainwash people!" Amphia hissed.

"I still make it sound good!" Octavio hissed back.

"I can agree to that!" Guyver shouted from the cabin.

"Stay out of this, please…" Amphia sighed.

Tim sighed. "Hey-uh…can I suggest something?"

They both looked at him.

"So-uh…I want to be a musician, but I'm definitely never going to be getting rid of this mark…" He pointed out. "Maybe I can just…be me now and focus on the leader stuff later in life? I mean, did it have to be now?" He looked at Octavio at the last part.

"Folks ain't gonna like a leader they don't know…" Octavio said. "Figured I'd introduce ya to the public, have ya meet the family of ingrates, and take ya around with me on my public appearences…"

"And take him away from his friends…" Amphia added.

"…Well…maybe I can do some of that now…" He suggested. "I mean…I guess I could meet the family…"

They both looked at each other before looking at him again.

"You'd…really do that, Tim?" Sylvia came up and asked. "I mean…that'd mean we wouldn't be seeing you for a while…"

"Yeah…but I just found out I had more family the other day…least I can do is meet them…aaaand maybe use some of Gramps's equipment…"

"Ha!" Octavio chuckled. "A'ight! You've convinced me!"

"…I'm not surprised _that_ convinced you…" Amphia sighed. "You sure you'd want to do that, Tim?"

"I don't see why not." Tim shrugged. "I mean, I can always come back later."

"Maybe you'll be the king that makes peace between the races." Cuttlefish said.

"Fat chance…" Octavio scoffed. "Like that'll ever happen…"

"Octavio, you still don't believe that it can happen?" Cuttlefish asked.

"Says the guy who's been watchin' us for a century." Octavio rolled his eyes.

"Touché…" The Cap'n shrugged. "Though I suppose I can finally retire soon."

"Quitter…" Octavio chuckled.

"Didn't you say you were retirin' too?" Cuttlefish raised an eyebrow.

"You squiddin' me?" Octavio looked at him, a glimmer in his eye. "This adventure just game me an idea for a whole new album! I'll drop all of you Squidbeak punks like a hot beat once it's out!"

"Uh-huh…" The old man nodded as Sheldon came in, wheeling in a new Snowglobe for the Octarian king, who just laughed as he was promptly moved into it.

"So…when are you leaving, Tim?" Sarah asked.

"How about after we visit Mount Nantai?" Amphia suggested.

"Why're we going there?" Tim asked.

"To…visit someone important…" She told him.

"So…when are you doing that…?" Sylvia asked.

"Not sure…" Tim said. "Maybe after a bit of relaxation after…that stuff with Julia…she was nuts…"

"But you took her down." Valerie smiled. "So, in the end, you got to be a hero in this adventure."

"When you put it like that…" He looked at her and smiled a bit. "Yeah…"

She then gave him a kiss on the cheek and his eyes widened.

"Eheh…th-thanks…" He blushed a bit.

Valerie smiled and walked off to look at the nearby TV.

"That was nice…" He said to his mother.

"Huh…um…hey, Tim…I've been meaning to-um…talk to you about something…" Amphia sighed, taking his hand.

"O-okay…about what?" He asked as he was pulled away to near the boss kettle.

"Oh, here we go…" Guyver shook his head. "Anyway…think we should head home for now, Sarah?"

She got up, wobbling just a bit. "I'm gonna need some help…"

He put an arm around her. "Sure."

"We'll keep an eye out fer yer cousin." Cuttlefish told him.

Otis gave Callie a peck on the cheek. "I'm gonna head out too. I have to make sure the fishies aren't burning the place down."

"Heh…okay, Oats!" She waved him goodbye.

Sarah, Otis, and Guyver waved everyone goodbye as they left.

One sat on the bench next to Marie and sighed. "Well, at leassst it's-uh…finally over…" He decided to drop the voice.

Marie looked at him. "You…really have a thing for keeping that persona up, huh?"

"Eh…guess I can drop it…" He said, taking his gas mask off.

Marie stared at him a few seconds before realizing. "Wait…aren't you that squid from forever ago? From the one contest?"

"Yeah…" He nodded. "George, by the way."

"Oh, I already knew your name." She half-smiled. "And sorry I missed your performance at Pearl's party. I had to take care of something."

"I-it's fine…" He shrugged. "There will be more performances you can go to, I'm sure…"

She looked at him a bit before getting a small notepad and writing something down. "Hey…you want to show me some time, you can call me up. I'll come see your gig." She then handed him the note.

He looked at it, surprised. "Are…you giving me your number?"

"Um…yeah. That's…how you'll call me for your gig..." She tilted her head a bit.

"Er…right…" He scratched his head a bit. "Well, I'm gonna tell the others."

He then went over to the ones who were obviously his sisters. "I got Marie's number."

"Finally!" Sheryl grinned as she took her mask off.

"Nice." Carol said, doing the same.

Tim and Amphia soon walked back, Tim's face a bit red.

"Well…that's an eye-opener…" Tim muttered before looking to see George and his sisters. "George! Carol! Sheryl! When did you guys get here? And why are you dressed…like…oh…"

"Yeah…surprise." George shrugged. "Just wanted to make sure you were safe, little man."

"Heh…thanks…" He smiled.

"Come on, Tim." Amphia said, putting an arm around him. "How about we all get some dinner?"

His band friends, Sylvia, Valerie, and Nina looked at him.

He smiled. "Sounds good to me…"

They then went into the manhole back to Inkopolis, leaving the events of the past couple days behind them.


	33. Epilogue

Epilogue

 **Two Days Later…**

The first day after the short civil war in Octo Canyon, the Splatoon was starting to fall back into its usual form; the Cap'n went back to watching Octavio and patrols started up again.

Sarah, Guyver, and Otis returned to their apartments the night before. Otis would find that the Salmonlings had not only managed to not burn his apartment down, but prepared some food. They told him it was prepared "the Salmon way." He found it delicious, but hoped that didn't mean that calamari was on the menu.

Arnold stayed with Beth until she woke up, though of course she wasn't happy to find out that Mei had gone missing and hurried into the Canyon as soon as possible.

Octavio was in his usual state of captivity, though in a better mood this time after family reunion and the fact that he'd rather his old rival watched over him than a snarky popstar who'd forget to feed him.

He would be moved briefly, however. He taken by the Splatoon into the Ammo Knights truck and moved to Mount Nantai for yet another reunion. Amphia and Tim would be waiting for him in front of a group of headstones. The one they were looking for was titled "Green Eyes." Octavio stared down at the headstone in silence while Amphia wept and Tim said everything he had wanted to say to his dad at that point. After a while, they headed back to the city, feeling relieved.

The Defenders went back to being a semi-helpful force in the world, though only really preparing for some big event to happen that likely wouldn't.

Cass returned to the Gorge with her tail between her legs, an unhappy commander and a night of hard drinking awaiting her.

Julia was taken into custody and faced trial the day after her capture. She was found guilty of treason and promptly executed.

Amphia had decided she would stay in the city, opting to find a job and move in somewhere like she had planned to. She wished her son the best of luck in the Canyon.

The second day following the events in Octo Canyon, Tim and Valerie were taken to the cabin in Octo Valley. Everyone he'd befriended in the city had come to see him off. Tim looked at the friends he made and smiled before waving them goodbye and heading with Valerie into the domes.

The friends he made returned to the city, more adventures awaiting them all. For the moment, however, they could use a bit of cooldown after their last escapade.

* * *

 **Author's Note: Finally, another story done. Sorry it took so long to get these last chapters out, but I hope it was worth the wait. Writer's block can be a real pain when you have an idea of how the story should go, but can't really find the words to put down. Well, despite the setbacks, I've been in a writing mood lately, so expect more stories to come in the near future! Se you all later and take care.**


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